


we'll win for sure  [ we will endure ]

by eternalmagic



Category: Persona 5
Genre: Gen, M/M, Slow Burn, and there Are the background ships but the akoto/haru isn't so prevalent yet, ryuji's mother is here but she doesn't show much so not tagging her, the other thieves begin to have bigger appearances starting in ch 3!, will add them as they continue to get added
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-25
Updated: 2020-04-24
Packaged: 2021-02-18 11:23:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 21,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21560374
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eternalmagic/pseuds/eternalmagic
Summary: “But I figured--” Ryuji rushes out, feeling flustered under Yusuke’s watch. “--We’re just telling him that we’re comin’ for him. It ain’t like we’re the ones who have to say what he did. He’s gonna have to do that himself.”Yusuke is quiet for several long moments, his gaze turning back to Kamoshida’s calling card. “I suppose that is the best way to look at such a thing.”[ the calling cards, and ryuji and yusuke. ]
Relationships: Background Ann/Shiho, Background Makoto/Haru, Kitagawa Yusuke/Sakamoto Ryuji
Comments: 44
Kudos: 143





	1. lust

**Author's Note:**

> the idea of a ryukita fic centered on ryuji and yusuke writing the calling cards has been on my mind for probably over a year now, and i've had the start of it sitting in my drafts since march. i'm having issues getting through chapter 3, especially since i'm changing things up a tiny bit from the original idea of solely focusing on Only writing scenes about these two writing the cards, but hopefully by putting out the first couple chapters i'll get to moving on this.
> 
> major thanks to my roommate kes and all the friends i have subjected to beta reading for this fic over the past few months; i really, _really_ appreciate your patience with me as i read and reread aloud parts as i wrote and rewrote and _rewrote_ them. it means the world to me to have your support <3
> 
> the title, by the way, comes from the song _the triumph_ from the show rwby. i loved another couple sets of lyrics that i wanted to use as the title, but felt they were too long: "Can't wish away the dismal days/Can't bring back what is gone; Won't waste more tears on yesteryears/Instead, we'll carry on!" i recently got super back into rwby and do highly recommend it. [if nothing else, give _the triumph_ a listen!](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0VmFT4jETbI)
> 
> also, a quick edit: based on some minor things we see/hear in royal, some edits have been made! nothing that spoils things, i promise, so you don't need to worry. yall probably won't even notice it.

He'd wanted to write the calling card, sure; but now that Ryuji is sitting down to actually do it, he's drawing a blank. It's not like he's lacking in ideas of what to say. There's so much he wants to tell that bastard Kamoshida, and there has been since long before Palaces and Personas were even a thought in his mind.

Ryuji huffs, tapping out an irregular rhythm on the table with the end of his pencil. He'd gotten so excited about this, bought supplies beforehand to make sure the cards looked cool and all, but now he feels like all of that drive has drained away. He tries to focus on the day his Persona manifested, the anger he'd felt consuming him. While he can feel electricity thrumming through his veins at just the thought of Captain Kidd, he just can't seem to harness that rage here and now.

Guess it's not gonna be as simple as he'd thought.

It's hard to put into words, he figures. He's always felt weird describing it. It's easy to call Kamoshida an asshole and be done with it, but actually explaining to someone what that asshole did to the track team, to _Ryuji_...it's harder. It's awkward, and uncomfortable. Not to mention what Suzui and Ann and so many other girls went through--how can they explain something like that in a calling card? How do you talk about something like the abuse or the harassment in a way that makes someone as evil as Kamoshida think twice? Actually be scared for once in their miserable lives?

Ryuji wants the bastard to know that he's getting what's coming to him. The issue is, Ryuji's not good with words most of the time. He's well aware of that. Maybe the others were right to be concerned about him taking this task on.

Ryuji frowns at the thought-- _no_ , he said he would do this. He's going to make good on that promise. He'll make this the best damn calling card they've ever seen.

But…

" _Mmmm_." Ryuji whines, dropping his forehead onto the desk the way he does sometimes when he can't wrap his mind around a math problem. "Why can't you write yourself, dammit?"

The pad of paper and pencil say nothing, as if to mock his inability to come up with something.

Ryuji purses his lips and sighs heavily. He tries in vain to once more harness his anger, his resentment of Kamoshida, but doesn't quite manage it. Maybe he's lost the adrenaline by now? They haven't gone into the Palace since securing their route to the Treasure days ago, so maybe that's what it is.

It takes longer than he'd care to admit to realize that just sitting and staring at the page just isn't working. At that point, the only thing he can think to do is find inspiration. Surely someone's got examples of this kinda thing, right? It's in all sorts of anime and movies and shit. Ryuji tries not to yell at himself too much for not realizing this sooner. He ends up spending almost the same amount of time trying to find examples online, but even those don't seem to spark anything.

Maybe he just needs to _watch_ something. Hearing about phantom thieves might help more than just sitting around, trying to work off of nothing. Which is why, about half an hour later, his mother finds him tearing apart their small living room when she comes home from work.

“ _Ryuji!_ ” she exclaims, her expression one of shock. “What the hell are you doing?”

He winces. “Shi--uh, shoot. Uh--sorry, I was lookin’ for something.”

She stares at him, bewildered, for several long moments. Eventually she lets out a breath, setting her hands on her hips. “Looking for what, exactly?”

Ryuji feels his face turning red. It’s damn _embarrassing_ to say out loud. “...those tapes from when I was little? When you’d let me record my favorite anime and stuff? I-I wanted to look at them again.”

“Really?” His mother huffs out a little sigh, her expression softening. She shakes her head, but drops her purse onto their sofa and kneels next to him. “I only kept a couple of those when we moved, but…” She peers into the cabinet below the TV that Ryuji had been working at, eventually pulling out a pair of VHS tapes. “Here we go. You liked Detective Conan a lot, so I made sure we held onto these.”

 _Perfect!_ Ryuji thinks, eyes scanning the labels on the side. “Ma, these’re just what I wanted. Thanks.”

“Sure thing, kiddo.” She tugs him close enough to plant a loud smacking kiss to his temple, grinning impishly. “Just clean this damn place before I come back, alright?”

Ryuji nods, watching as his mother heads off to her bedroom to change. Thankfully, she’s got her other part-time job to go to tonight, meaning Ryuji will have the apartment to himself. He makes quick work of the mess he’s made, and waits for his mom to leave for the night before putting in one of the tapes. In spite of himself, he’s smiling the entire time, suddenly eight years old again and watching anime with his mom over breakfast.

The episode he picks is one with Kaito Kid in it, and in no time flat, Ryuji is scribbling down ideas for what a calling card should be--simple, to the point. They’re not writing a giant list of his crimes, just telling Kamoshida that he’s about to get what’s coming to him. Once he realizes that, it comes easier.

It takes until almost midnight to make enough cards to post around the school, but Ryuji is proud of how well he cut out all the words from the magazines he’d picked up, of the pieces of red cardstock all sitting together in unison.

Once he’s finished gluing them all together he sits back, admiring his work. Only then does he realize that the back is blank.

“Can’t leave it like _this._ ” He mumbles, tapping his pencil against the table once again. He glances up at the TV, where he’s paused the episode of Conan on a still of the Kaito Kid.

The top hat, the smirk...Ryuji recalls the Palace, the way he and the others seem to ride the adrenaline of their work so much that wild smiles always take over during battle. He scribbles a small doodle as he does so, of a hat and crazed eyes and a toothy smile. It doesn’t look half bad, actually. He draws it again, and again, before he decides to quickly draw the same on the back of each card he has made. He pens in the phrase he's heard Morgana and Akira saying as well, for good measure.

Take Your Heart. It's even more to the point than the message itself.

Before crawling into his futon for what little rest he’ll get, Ryuji takes the top card off of his pile and shoves it under a book on his desk.

Might as well keep one, right?

The following day, once Kamoshida’s Shadow has been defeated and Ann and Akira head home, the fake gold medal clutched in their leaders’ hands, Ryuji feels like he can finally breathe properly again. His leg aches from the exertion of running from the collapsing Palace, but he feels better than he has in at least a year.

He flips the card over and over in his hands when he gets home, hoping that they really have done the impossible. Hoping that maybe that bastard will do as promised and turn himself in.

Things already feel better. Ryuji thinks this may be the start of something good.

sir suguru kamoshida  
the utter bastard of lust  
we know how shitty you are,  
and that you put your twisted desires  
on students that can't fight back  
that's why we have decided to steal away those desires  
and make you confess your sins  
this will be done tomorrow,  
so we hope you are ready

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i do have chapter 2 written, and if i don't add it on today, i'll probably publish it pretty soon (no later than about this time next week). please look forward to it!


	2. vanity

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> well, decided to upload right away instead of waiting. the first chapter was just a little too short, so i hope this whets your appetites!

So this _Phantom Thief_ gig is becoming a thing.

Ryuji is excited by the prospect of being able to help others like Mishima and the volleyball team stand up for themselves. Part of him wishes this had happened a year ago, when the track team was on the fritz and Ryuji’s leg was freshly broken, but he’s glad that he’s got Ann and Akira and even that damn cat with him now.

And, what’s more—they have their next target! Ryuji isn’t really all that into art, and maybe he wasn’t so crazy about this Kitagawa kid at first, but this isn’t so bad as the first step into the limelight.

He feels for Yusuke, though; that giant portrait of the guy, showing him as less a person and more a possession, and the rest of the museum on top of that…Ryuji hated it, hated what it meant. Hated that they had to show Yusuke all this just to get him on their side.

He wasn’t all that surprised when Yusuke awakened his persona.

Ryuji settles back on his heels as he waits for the train, wishing his bag wasn’t quite so heavy. They’ve only just gotten Yusuke on the team, but already he’s preparing for the next calling card—picking up more thick paper, magazines to cut the words out of, anything Ryuji can think of to put on this one. Given how lackluster the response was to his last card, Ryuji wants to outdo himself.

He’ll just have to think about it while he’s following Akira through the Palace. That way he can spend as much time as he wants making it perfect.

He chews his lip, watching quietly as Yusuke studies his phone and the photo Ryuji had snapped of the first calling card. Maybe he should have expected the scrutinizing, working with an artist and all, but…

“I-I know it ain’t all...artsy and stuff. Mona says I got no clue what might look good to people, or how to make the message sound fancy…” Ryuji rubs the back of his neck, inching closer to the taller boy. They left after rush hour, right? The station shouldn’t be this crowded. He huffs out a breath, trying not to feel self conscious.

Over the past couple weeks, Ryuji’s done his best to figure out how to perfect this calling card. Ultimately, though, he figures that working with Yusuke is probably for the best.

“Mmm.” Yusuke begins, brow furrowed in thought. He’s quiet for another moment, leaving Ryuji swallowing thickly. But then Yusuke’s expression softens, if only minutely. “I think, for a start, it’s actually a fair composition. It’s…” The artist frowns, holding the phone even closer to his face in spite of the photo being blown up as much as possible. “It’s clear that you have some sense of aesthetics, based on the colors and how the message is displayed. Red and black together evoke quite a striking series of emotions. Your design on the back is as any logo should be--eye catching, to say the least. The slogan to go with it is to the point.” He hands Ryuji his phone. “There’s certainly room for improvement, but this is not a bad start.”

“Huh.” Ryuji sure as hell hadn’t expected that as a response. He can’t help his smile, scratching a little at his chin sheepishly. “W-Well yeah! I guess it _is_ pretty good, huh?”

Yusuke straightens, face resuming its usual calm expression. “The contents of the message sound a bit childish, but I have to agree on the whole. And you created this without aid from the others?”

Ryuji nods. “I kinda strong armed them into letting me do it, actually. But yeah, it was just me.”

That earns him a huff of laughter. “That certainly does sound like you.” Yusuke taps his chin. “Do you have any more of those supplies remaining for the next card?”

“Yeah--I stocked up on some more. Gotta be able to do the words and all.” Ryuji taps his foot the way he always does when he’s impatient--thankfully, the train ride home at this hour is only a few minutes. “My mom said she isn’t gonna be home tonight, so we can do it all at my place. It’s not too far.”

“I shall have to find some way to show my appreciation for her hospitality, even if she is not there.” Yusuke turns his attention from Ryuji, peering around the underground walkway. His eyes seem to settle on something on the far wall. “I may need to gather a few additional tools. May I make a brief detour before we leave?”

Ryuji shrugs, indicating that he doesn’t mind. He follows Yusuke as the artist leads him towards the long wall of coin lockers, watching the artist remove the key ring from his belt and sort through them.

Yusuke kneels to one of the larger lockers on the bottom row, and glances briefly up at Ryuji as he opens it. “I keep some of my supplies here; sometimes my more expensive paints or tools were stolen if I left them in the atelier.”

By whom, he doesn’t say. He doesn’t exactly have to, though Ryuji has about had it with that shitty old man taking things away from Yusuke.

Ryuji can only nod and hum in understanding, shoving his hands in his pockets. Yusuke murmurs under his breath as he removes things and puts them in his school bag--Ryuji counts a pair of x-acto knives, a metal ruler, a few paint tubes, brushes, and a small bottle of what must be some kind of glue. Yusuke eventually hesitates, before glancing up at Ryuji.

“Do you have a computer at home?”

Ryuji blinks. “Eh?”

“A computer--I’ve just realized how difficult it may be to draw and paint on what may be dozens upon dozens of these cards.” He tilts his head. “One of Madarame’s other pupils left an old drawing tablet in the atelier when she stopped pursuing art, and I've held onto it. I fear I don’t use it all that often as I prefer traditional painting over digital...but if possible, we may be able to simply print the overall design as a base for what we will be doing if I bring it along.”

Hadn’t really thought about that. Ryuji thinks back to the first calling card, and realizes that he only got a couple hours of sleep because he had to spend so much time preparing all the cards--not to mention how badly his hand cramped up the day after. Maybe printing things was a good option if they wanted to get decent rest before taking on Madarame’s Shadow.

“My mom’s is probably somewhere in the house. Dunno what art programs she’s got, but we can look?”

Yusuke nods, taking out a small, cheap-looking tablet and adding that to his collection of supplies. He quickly closes the locker once more and stands, brushing himself off. “That should be everything, then. I’ll follow your lead?”

The train ride isn’t a long one--just a few minutes before getting off at Yutenji, then a short walk to the apartment complex Ryuji and his mother live in. Ryuji toes off his shoes at the door, calling out his usual ‘I’m home!’ even though his mom isn’t around for the night. He flicks on the lights and leads Yusuke further inside.

It’s not much--never has been. A small table, a tiny little sofa, and a place for the TV. His mom has always been a stickler for keeping their living room clear for guests (though they never have anyone over). Ryuji turns to find Yusuke drinking it all in, his grey eyes wandering over every surface with a quiet curiosity.

“You can make yourself at home, I guess. It ain’t much, but feel free.” Ryuji rubs the back of his neck before shrugging off his uniform blazer.

“Ryuji--” Yusuke says, in an odd tone of voice that make Ryuji turn to meet his eye. The artist is standing just inside the front door of the apartment, expression serious. Yusuke lets out a quiet breath, closing his eyes for a moment. He continues, tone just the slightest bit amused. “I live in a shack.”

Ryuji blinks owlishly for a second before it hits him. He gapes, jaw working as he tries to respond, before muttering, “R-right.”

They stand awkwardly in the living room, Yusuke out of politeness and Ryuji because he’s not quite sure what to do with himself after that exchange--why is Yusuke _always_ so awkward to talk to?

Finally, he finds his voice again.

“A-All the stuff I’ve got is in my room. If you wanna get set up in here, I’ll go grab it.” Ryuji would prefer having no one else see his mess of a room, especially an artist who tends to not use his brain to mouth filter. (Like Ryuji’s one to talk, but still.) “And I can bring us some waters or sodas or somethin’ in a sec.”

Yusuke nods and settles himself at the table in the center of the room. As he begins to take out what he’d brought, Ryuji retreats to his room. It takes longer than he wants (he’d been forced to shove all of the calling card stuff under his futon in the closet so his mom wouldn’t find it) but he comes back, arms laden, and drops it all on the floor next to the table.

“Here.” He says, holding out the calling card he’d saved from his batch for Kamoshida. “The real thing for you.”

“Ah, I see.” Yusuke takes the card delicately, voice trailing off as he focuses his attention on it.

Ryuji goes to rummage in the fridge, hoping they still had some Manta around. He beams when he finds one can at the back. “You thirsty?”

He gets no response for a long moment.

“Yusuke.” Ryuji purses his lips and straightens. “Yusuke, what do you want?”

The other sits primly at the table, focused solely on the card and its construction. Ryuji sighs and shakes his head, taking out an Earl Green as well. He returns to the living room and drops himself down, setting the tea out for Yusuke.

Yusuke waits until Ryuji’s settled to speak. He’s at least aware enough of his surroundings to know when Ryuji joins him--that, or he’s finally come up with his assessment of the original card and has good timing. “This should be simple to replicate--especially if we are to utilize a computer for most of our work. Would it be possible to still use magazine clippings for the message itself?”

Ryuji cracks open his soda and shrugs. “Sure. I bought what should be enough copies to get the words we want.”

“How did the construction of this one go?” Yusuke tilts his head, his tone strictly business.

Ryuji does his best to describe it; how he worked out the message first, then clipped out the right words and glued them down. Cutting out the cardstock, and adding the final touch with the logo. He leaves out how long it took him to get the inspiration, because it’s kind of embarrassing.

Yusuke remains quiet the entire time Ryuji is talking, the entirety of his focus now on the blond. Eventually he nods, setting down the card. His eyes settle somewhere in the distance as he speaks.

“Writing the message itself should be the first step--it’s useless to cut words out if we don’t know which we need to use. Perhaps, once we’ve gotten that part, we can divide the work.”

Sounds good, Ryuji thinks. He nods.

“I must admit, though--I am unsure of what to say.” Yusuke frowns, looking back again to Kamoshida’s card. “There seems to be...so much more than can fit on this card that Madarame needs to hear. To acknowledge.”

“Yeah.” Ryuji leans back onto his hands.

He can sympathize--it’s a rehash of what happened when dealing with Kamoshida’s card, coming up with what to say. It’s a bit easier now that he has one of these cards under his belt, but this is gonna be Yusuke’s first try at it. Ryuji knows first hand that it’s not easy.

“It was tough for me.” He eventually admits, drawing the artist’s attention. “It took me...longer than I wanted to figure out what to say. It seems weird, boiling everything that bastard did down to its basics.” Ryuji fiddles with the tab on his Manta, unable to meet Yusuke’s eye. “There was just so much, yaknow? And I wanted to shout all of it out. But...I dunno. Would’ve been too much. Didn’t know where to start with all of it.”

When he looks up, Yusuke is watching him, his grey eyes more intense than Ryuji remembers them being. He shifts, uneasy.

“But I figured--” Ryuji rushes out, feeling flustered under Yusuke’s watch. “--We’re just telling him that we’re comin’ for him. It ain’t like we’re the ones who have to say what he did. He’s gonna have to do that himself.”

Yusuke is quiet for several long moments, his gaze turning back to Kamoshida’s calling card. “I suppose that is the best way to look at such a thing.”

Ryuji remembers--not that it was hard to forget--that this guy was basically Yusuke’s dad. He’s been on board with changing his heart, but Ryuji wonders what Yusuke really thinks of it all.

He sits forward, picking up a blank sheet of notebook paper and a pencil. “How ‘bout this--I write generally what we want to be on it, and then you make it sound fancy. I’ve got the experience workin’ out what kinds of things to say an’ all.”

Yusuke nods, silent save for a quiet hum of assent. Ryuji gets down to business--now that he has something to go off of, this card’s message comes together much faster. He writes down one version, and then a second, before turning the page to Yusuke for refinement.

Ryuji...well, he kind of just watches as Yusuke works. He may be a _little_ worried; this is the only dad Yusuke’s ever known, after all. He’s a right bastard, sure, but this can’t be easy for Yusuke. Ryuji would say something, but...

Were he sitting on the opposite side of the table, he figures the dark curtain of Yusuke's bangs would hide the vaguely stormy look in his eyes. But, Ryuji's not, so he can see it pretty clearly from where he is. It's a look that Ryuji has noticed on Yusuke's face often when they're in Madarame's Palace; a mix of emotions that he can't quite sort out entirely. Anger for sure. Maybe sadness, too. Those two feelings are understandable, given everything.

Ryuji's not sure how to put Yusuke at ease. Hell, he couldn't make Ann really feel any better either when they finished off Kamoshida; the words got all stuck in his throat whenever he tried to talk about it. Feelings like this--the complicated shit--that's all Akira's department. Ryuji's brash nature doesn't lend to dealing with that sort of thing in any good way.

Eventually, Yusuke finishes. He turns the page back around for Ryuji to look at.

"I hope one of these will suffice." He says, voice quieter than usual.

"Uh..." Ryuji reads over both of the rewritten messages, going slow to be sure he reads them properly. "Sounds good to me. Was there one you liked better? We can go with that one."

It takes a minute, but they eventually settle on which message to go with. It's simple, like how Kamoshida's was, but a bit fancier-sounding. They divide their work pretty quickly after that--Yusuke will work on the card as a whole in terms of design, while Ryuji will settle down to start cutting out the words they need from his pile of newspapers and magazines.

Before too long, Ryuji has found his mother's old laptop and gotten Yusuke's tablet set up. They find a simple art program online to use and Yusuke falls quiet as he begins his work, though he mumbles curses to himself every so often ("I much prefer actual painting, but this is to save us time and effort." He says when Ryuji asks if he wants to stop). Ryuji settles in with his scissors, scanning each newspaper and magazine for the words he needs for the message, carefully cutting them out and setting them to the side. They fall into an easy rhythm, the apartment filled with the quiet _snip_ of Ryuji's scissors and the faint _taptaptap_ of Yusuke's stylus on the tablet.

"Ryuji." Yusuke eventually says, turning the laptop so Ryuji can see the screen easily. "Does this look alright?"

It looks more than just _alright_ \--Yusuke has taken Ryuji's quick scribble of a smirk and a top hat and turned into something really amazing. Honestly, Ryuji's a bit stunned by how cool it looks; it's almost like Yusuke reached directly into his brain back when he first came up with it and made it real. Ryuji hasn't seen much of Yusuke's actual art yet, but if this is what his paintings are like, then Ryuji is really damn impressed.

He blinks, eyes wide, before nodding. "Y-Yeah! Man, that looks awesome."

Ryuji glances up quickly enough to see something looking like relief cross Yusuke's face, quickly replaced by a small smile. "Wonderful. Your original design had an emotion to it that I wanted to emulate. If I managed to capture it, then I think that's that."

"Yeah, dude, you got it."

Yusuke smiles in a pleased sort of way, the corners of his mouth turning up just enough to show it. "I will try to save this as is, then, before moving on to the rest."

Silence fills the room again, but there's a sense of accomplishment surrounding the table now. Ryuji can't help the smile on his face, trying to picture how this card is going to look once it's finished. He's about halfway through his stack of papers and magazines at this point; he figures they'll have enough to write at least three or four dozen of these cards once he's done.

"...May I ask you something?" Yusuke asks after another few minutes of quiet. He's still focused on the laptop and his work when Ryuji glances up, but his hand has paused, stylus hovering a small distance over the tablet.

Ryuji goes back to the magazine he's chopping up. "Yeah?"

"What happened after you sent the first calling card?" Yusuke tilts his head. "Morgana was a bit...vague about it when we discussed this card."

"I guess he was.” Ryuji sits up a little. “What d'ya wanna know...? Anything specific?"

The artist's expression goes stormy again, and it's a bit before Ryuji gets an answer. Yusuke must be thinking over what he wants to say. Eventually, he manages, "I suppose...how did the Palace ruler respond? What was it like, facing him?"

Ryuji hadn't thought about it much, to be honest. He abandons his work to lean back on his hand and think it over. "I was happy to have a chance to wail on him without anything happenin' to me; I've hated him for ages, and it was nice to get it out. Beatin' the shit outta someone that’s been so shitty to you with a crowbar is fun when you're angry, yaknow?"

Yusuke only makes a quiet noise of acknowledgement.

Ryuji doesn’t say anything for a second, before continuing in a more serious tone than he’s used to. "I think it meant more to Ann, to be honest; all the shit that she had on him was still kind of happening, so I think she got more out of it than I did." Ryuji shrugs, before settling his hand on his bad knee. "But it felt good. Felt nice, finally gettin' back at him for everything. ...Felt better when he admitted to it all."

"I see." Yusuke says, kind of quietly. He hesitates, before adding, "I hope I feel the same."

"Dude, you'll be free of him." Ryuji leans forward onto the table, nudging him under the table with his foot. "I _promise_ it'll be better."

Yusuke turns and meets his eye directly, gray eyes as intense as always. He studies Ryuji's face intently, before nodding as if he'd decided something.

"You're a good person, Ryuji."

The blonde sputters, jerking back a little. "Dude, where the hell did _that_ come from?"

Yusuke doesn't answer, just smiles a bit more broadly as he turns back to the computer.

They’re finished for the day--another Palace ruler defeated and another Treasure stolen--and their merry band seems to be dispersing. Ryuji taps his foot idly, his mind wandering to the person in the black mask that Madarame had spoken of, to the awful things he’d done to Yusuke.

Speaking of…

He glances over at Yusuke, whose grip on his mother’s painting hasn’t loosened since they made it back to the normal world. He’s now officially a member of the Thieves, ready to throw himself at their next big target just like the rest of them all.

It doesn’t sit well with Ryuji that Yusuke is going right back to the bastard that’s used him, that _killed his mom by just leaving her to lie there_. He hates this damn waiting game, and the sooner Yusuke is free of that asshole--the sooner he’s out of that _shack_ \--the better.

And, he’s hungry.

Ryuji rubs the back of his neck. A bit awkwardly, he says, “Hey, man--uh.” He clears his throat, fully aware that Yusuke has turned his way. “I was gonna stop at the beef bowl place on Central Street before heading home--I’m freakin’ _starving_. You, uh, wanna come with?”

No response.

Ryuji swallows and adds in a rush, “Just ‘cuz…y’know, exercise makes you hungry, and today was big day, and…” He trails off lamely, hoping he doesn’t sound as awkward as he feels.

Yusuke is watching him with a wide-eyed expression when Ryuji meets his gaze. There’s a small scrape on his cheek along where the bottom edge of his mask would be, the remnants of their fight with Madarame’s Shadow, and Ryuji has a hard time not staring at it.

Ryuji huffs, leg jiggling anxiously. “Just. Yeah. It’s not that late yet. Thought we could kill time. And eat something.”

“Oh.” Yusuke’s expression shifts, the corners of his mouth turning up just barely. “I’d be amenable.”

Ryuji’s mouth twitches. _Amenable_. Yusuke really sounded pretentious sometimes. “Alright. My treat, I guess, with you being a part of the team for real now and all.”

He turns and waves his hand for Yusuke to follow. They’re both quiet all the way to the shop, and Ryuji makes sure that he snatches up the bill before Yusuke can spot it; makes sure that his new teammate returns home full.

It’s better. Not perfect, but better than before.

sir ichiryusai madarame  
a great sinner of vanity  
whose talent has been exhausted  
you are an artist who uses his authority  
to shamelessly steal the ideas of his pupils  
we have decided to make you confess all your crimes  
with your own mouth  
we will take your distorted desires without fail


	3. gluttony

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my life motto should probably be something along the lines of "why make something simple when you can complicate it for No Good Reason". i think i mentioned it before but i was originally going to only write about the boys writing the cards themselves and even change how canon goes in order for them to write them all. but, i obviously changed my mind and ultimately ended up writing more in general which led to me going through game events with a fine-tooth comb just for like. sort of throw away lines. probably shouldn't do that going forward.
> 
> so. more complicated for sure but hopefully you all enjoy it.
> 
> anyway happy new year!

The beef bowls become a regular occurrence.

Ryuji doesn’t mind--he has to say that he actually likes Yusuke's company. Eating with a friend is a nice change after having to get ramen and beef bowls on his own for so long.

It helps that Yusuke is kind of cheap when it comes to food--Ryuji had worried about that when he realized how poorly Yusuke saved his money (though, Ryuji isn’t exactly one to talk). But it turned out that Yusuke tended towards food that was fairly inexpensive and designed to be filling, thankfully sparing Ryuji’s wallet.

Also, they both kind of head in the same direction after they go through Mementos already, so it seemed like a good idea. Ryuji is usually hungry by that time, and if he’s going to have Yusuke with him anyway, they might as well get dinner.

It's hard to follow Yusuke’s wild trains of thought sometimes (make that most of the time, if Ryuji is being honest), but Ryuji respects Yusuke's passion for art and that he’s got his goals all laid out before him. It’s kind of weird that he likes listening to Yusuke ramble about things while his meal gets cold, but it ends up being a regular part of Ryuji’s routine before he realizes it. It’s kind of like the way Ryuji is forced to search Akira’s face to see what he really thinks of Ryuji’s attempts to apologize to the old track team, or even trying to understand what the heck goes on in Ann’s brain half the time when she finds him at lunch. A year ago, he’d hate doing any of those things--but now...well.

On days when he and Akira work on endurance training, they get ramen and talk about their lives before Kamoshida. Sometimes on gloomy afternoons Ann will ask him for help on a workout routine over crepes, and they end up talking for hours on end. And now, in the early twilight hours after a long day of bashing in Shadows, he’ll grab a beef bowl with Yusuke and pretend like he knows anything about art.

Ryuji likes all of that more than what he’d been doing before--he likes not being alone. (Man, that sounds _way_ too sappy. He’d never admit that out loud, for the record.)

  
So. Uh.

Makoto’s got a Persona that’s also a motorcycle, and she’s somehow not turning them over to the cops because she’s a member of the Phantom Thieves now.

Ryuji’s happy about all of that, of course, but also _what the absolute fuck_.

He’s still feeling a bit shell shocked as the fucking _student council president of Shujin_ strolls off to the train with Ann, looking a little on the woozy side but not as bad as someone who just rammed a motorcycle through the doors of a bank floating several hundred feet off the ground after talking her way into a mob boss’s lair should and honestly? Yeah, okay, Ryuji would like to take a nap now, please.

“Fuckin’ hell.” Ryuji mutters under his breath, scrubbing a hand over his face. Because, really, that’s the mood all of a sudden.

“Are you okay, Ryuji?” Akira’s voice comes from beside him, startling the blonde out of his thoughts.

Ryuji glances up to find Yusuke and Akira watching him, their expressions both curious and concerned.

“Yeah.” Ryuji heaves a sigh, scratching at his scalp. “I dunno--it’s just been a _day_.”

“It certainly has been eventful.” Yusuke falls quiet for a few moments, studying him. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

“I’ll be fine.” Ryuji waves the taller boy off. “Don’t worry about it.”

The look on Yusuke’s face makes it clear that no, he will not stop worrying about it. Typical Yusuke, so maybe Ryuji shouldn’t be surprised by it.

Akira’s expression softens, clearly also not letting it slide but backing off a little in a way the artist never does. “If you’re sure. Text me when you get home so I know you got there okay?”

“Sure.” Ryuji’s mom is off work tonight, so he really should get going sometime soon so he can spend time with her. “But I think I’m gonna...do something. Before heading home. My brain’s goin’ nuts right now.”

Akira frowns. “What for?”

Ryuji shoves his hands into his pockets. He doesn’t want his mom to see him so worked up and worry about him; she’s got enough on her plate as it is, and she worries about him more than she should.

He settles on saying, “Why do you think, man? Today’s been just full of crazy bullshit.”

“Between dealing with this new Palace and running out into traffic, I must agree.” Yusuke’s mouth forms a thin little line. “Which, I should mention, was not the wisest course of action to take. You could have been run over, Ryuji.”

His tone has a bit of an angry edge to it, and Ryuji doesn’t like that very much. “Are you really trying to lecture me right now?”

“I am doing nothing of the sort.” Yusuke says, in the tone that he always uses to lecture Ryuji on art stuff.

Ryuji feels his jaw clench in irritation.

“Yusuke…” Akira says, in an attempt to stop an impending shouting match.

Ryuji’s leg jiggles, and he has to remind himself not to get worked up--he knows it’s just his nerves getting the better of him. He’s been working on not exploding at things. He takes a breath, lets it out slowly, and he feels at least a tiny bit better.

Yusuke seems to have done similarly, as his expression isn’t quite as openly irritated. Ryuji’s not sure what’s gotten into him lately--today may have turned out crazy, yeah, but it’s not like Ryuji hasn’t done stuff like this before for their little group. Yusuke has been testy the past week, ever since he apparently dragged Akira into Mementos for an art project. Ryuji’s more than a bit curious about what’s gotten into Yusuke.

The tension that had been rising deflates pretty quickly after Akira steps in. He’s always so damn good at that--getting people to calm down, to look before leaping. Ryuji’s half convinced that’s his best friend’s super power, not the multiple Personas thing (even if it _is_ pretty cool).

Morgana, who has been surprisingly quiet during this exchange, finally pokes his head further out of Akira’s bag. “Yusuke _is_ right, though--you’re far too reckless, Ryuji.”

Ryuji’s anger flares right back to life, and he shoots Morgana a glare. “Nobody _asked_ for your opinion, you damn cat.”

Morgana’s ears flatten out in irritation. Akira takes this moment to push off from the railing, forcing a cheery tone.

“I’m gonna pick up a few things on my way back to Leblanc, before everything closes for the night.” He smiles thinly, obviously trying to break the tension. “You two get home safe.”

“Sure thing.” Ryuji nods.

Yusuke does the same. “You as well.”

Akira heads off at that, waving over his shoulder at the two of them. Ryuji and Yusuke are left in the walkway, too tense to really say anything.

There’s an awkward silence for a long moment, before Yusuke straightens up. “I will also take my leave of you here. I’d like to make a brief stop at my favorite art supply store--they have a sale going on, if I remember correctly.”

Instantly, red flags go up in Ryuji’s head. There’s been an unvoiced agreement among the rest of the Thieves that someone has to join Yusuke when he goes out to buy art supplies--otherwise, Fox might spend all his money on things that aren’t the train fare or groceries.

Ryuji’s the only one around right now to keep Yusuke’s spending in check. Looks like he better come up with an excuse.

“I’m, uh, gonna come with.” Yusuke shoots him a look, and Ryuji rushes to add on, “I need somethin’ to do before I go home, and…” He fumbles for a decent reason. “..uh, I could get stuff for the calling cards? I need more paper anyway.”

Yusuke studies him intently for a moment, eyes narrowing. Eventually he lets out a breath and his expression softens. He doesn’t outright object the way he usually does, so Ryuji takes it as an okay to tag along.

They’re both quiet as they make the short walk to the store in question, and Ryuji trails along behind Yusuke as they enter. 

As Yusuke makes his way towards the paints, Ryuji finally speaks up. “Hey man--uh.” He ducks his head when Yusuke turns. “I’ll--um. I’m gonna try not to do that again.”

Yusuke raises an eyebrow.

“The running into traffic thing.” Ryuji clarifies.

The artist lets out a quiet breath. “To be fair, it was a moment of stress.” Yusuke turns his attention back to the oil paints in front of him. “I know you don’t throw yourself into the street on a normal day.”

“Yeah.” Ryuji shuffles on his feet, readjusts his bag. It’s too damn quiet in this store for his liking.

They wander around for a few minutes in silence again, mostly in the aisles dedicated to painting supplies. Yusuke finds a few tubes of paints and some other bottles that Ryuji doesn’t recognize, and it seems he’s being mindful of his spending for once because he actually puts a couple things back.

“The specialty paper is this way.” Yusuke eventually murmurs, nodding his head to the far wall.

“Right.” Ryuji falls into step behind Yusuke again.

He’s not sure _why_ he feels so awkward all of a sudden. He and Yusuke are friends now, right? They go out and eat sometimes, and they can hold together a conversation decently well. He hasn’t felt this uneasy with Yusuke since their initial meeting, and it’s a bit disconcerting.

He stares at the fifty kinds of paper sitting neatly on their shelves in front of him, trying to figure it out. Ryuji’s not quite sure, but…

“Yusuke--are you okay?” Ryuji abandons his attempts to pick out paper, turning instead to his friend. “You’ve been--I dunno, tense?--for a while. Is something wrong?”

The artist pauses, his grip on his basket tightening briefly. But then, he sighs, and Ryuji feels something breaking apart the tension hanging around them.

“I entered a piece into a competition recently.” Yusuke starts. “I had our leader take me into Mementos, and I used that to inspire my painting. But it wasn’t received as well as I thought it would be.”

“Oh.” Ryuji knows Yusuke well enough to know that he probably took that poorly. “So...you’re letting that get to you?”

Yusuke purses his lips. “No. I’m determined to show that man he’s _wrong_.” His grip tightens on his basket once more. “He’ll see.”

It’s been a while since Ryuji saw Yusuke this worked up. He’s always a tiny bit surprised by it. “Well...I’m sure you’ll do that.”

Ryuji gets a quiet noise of acknowledgement in response. He’d been hoping for more--maybe something to lead into figuring out what else there was to all of this. But clearly Yusuke doesn’t want to talk about it.

“Um.” Ryuji swallows thickly, not sure what else to say other than what he already has. He opens his mouth once or twice to say something, but everything he can think of sounds way too corny so the words die in his mouth. He kind of wishes Akira were here.

Eventually, he says, “So, this paper looks right for the cards.”

“It appears to be the right color.”

“Cool, I’m gettin’ this then.” Yikes, the paper here is a hell of a lot more expensive than Ryuji had wanted. But it’s too late to back out of buying it and he’s already tugging Yusuke’s sleeve so the artist will follow him.

They pay for everything, and Yusuke falls into step beside him on the way to the station. They part ways at the turnstiles, both still a little uneasy but not as much as before.

Ryuji texts Akira to let him know that he got home okay, and then shoots a message to Yusuke too, just to be safe.

 **> To: Yusuke**  
Hey man, if you ever wanna talk about stuff, just lemme know.

 **> To: Yusuke  
**I’m always down for a beef bowl.

Ryuji waits to see if he receives a response--he doesn’t. With a sigh, he drops his phone next to his pillow and rolls over to get some sleep.

  
Yusuke stays super irritable.

It’s not as bad as the day Makoto joined their cause, but it’s definitely noticeable. He never actually responded to Ryuji’s text inviting him to talk, and most of the time he heads home instead of grabbing a bite with Ryuji or giving more than a brief farewell to the others. He’s polite still, but it’s obvious that he’s got something on his mind.

“I think he’s just got a lot going on.” Ann says one day after running through Kaneshiro’s Palace. She takes another bite of her crepe and chews thoughtfully. “I mean, his life is more all over the place than ours was after Kamoshida. He lost his home, after all.”

“I know, I know.” Ryuji crumples the empty wrapper of his own crepe between his hands. “Just...I kinda wish he’d talk to us about it.”

Ann shrugs. “It’d be nice, yeah, but you can’t always force people to talk about their issues. Don’t you remember when we first met him? We tried to make Yusuke talk and--” She lets out an angry huff. “-- _ugh_. It didn’t go well.”

She’s got a point.

“I think he’ll be okay once he’s a little more settled.” Ann finishes her crepe, snatching Ryuji’s hand and shoving her trash into it. “Just give it time.”

Ryuji frowns. He’s never been the patient type.

Instead of saying anything about how he’d rather get their friend talking sooner rather than later, he takes Ann’s trash in hand and shoves it in the hood of her jacket. “Throw away your own damn trash!”

“Aww, come on! No fair!” Ann whines, pouting as she fishes around for the wrapper.

“That fake tears act don’t work on me.” Ryuji shoves gently at her shoulder and stands. “The trash can ain’t that far. Besides, weren’t you just sayin’ you need more exercise?”

Ann sticks her tongue out at him, and it feels like they’re in middle school all over again. He laughs as he easily dodges her attempts to shove her trash back into his hands, and he forgets his worries at least for the rest of the afternoon.

  
“I’m afraid that I don’t understand why I’m here.”

Ryuji frowns around a mouthful of gyoza. “The _card_ , dude. We need you here for the card.”

They’re settled in the diner on Central Street, maybe five minutes away from the hideout in the walkway. Their booth is kind of towards the back of the place, well enough away from most that their business as Phantom Thieves won’t be overhead (probably). Makoto sits on the bench opposite Ryuji, focusing her attention on her meal instead of the two boys she’s sharing this table with.

Yusuke purses his lips, expression betraying his annoyance. “But what would require my assistance? We saved all of the drawings I had done to the drive you gave me, and we shouldn’t need to do it again.” His brow furrows together even more. “Unless--”

“Nah, I got it.” Ryuji fishes the flash drive he’d saved all their files on from his bag and wiggles it between his fingers. “That’s all good. Just--”

Surely Yusuke would be able to understand why Ryuji felt a bit weird being alone with Makoto. Not that there’s anything wrong with her--god no--he’s just a bit...scared. No, not _scared_. Uneasy? Intimidated? Yeah, those were right.

Makoto intimidates Ryuji. She’s smart, she’s scary as hell when she’s mad, and her Persona is crazy intense. He probably shouldn’t be like this (he’s not intimidated by Ann, after all), but he is.

So he’d made an excuse to get Yusuke there too. You know. For support.

Not only that, but Yusuke’s mood seems to have gotten better overall. Ann had clearly been right about giving him time to sort through his life, but Ryuji still hates playing the waiting game.

He would never admit it out loud, but he’d missed their hangouts, too. Both boys are kind of busy, between Ryuji trying to get dirt on Yamauchi when he’s able to and Yusuke’s apparent feud with the guy from his art show and dragging Akira all over creation. Hanging out after hitting the Metaverse had been really nice--it felt almost like getting ramen back when the track team existed, but with less sports talk and more watching his friend go on and on about his passion.

But Ryuji can't just _say that_ ; he's embarrassed himself too much already today.

So.

“--You’re the one who made the card look and sound real nice last time.” Ryuji settles on. He shrugs, turning back to his meal. “Figured we need you to help make sure I don’t eff this one up too.”

“I’m here too, you know.” Makoto says with just the slightest hint of amusement in her voice. “But having an artist is sure to make the card that much better.”

Yusuke falls quiet for a moment, before finally murmuring, "I still don't think your first card was as bad as you make it out to be, Ryuji. But if you need me, then I am happy to assist."

"Please do." Makoto smiles faintly, taking the words right out of Ryuji's mouth. "I'm looking forward to working with you more, Kitagawa-kun."

"Simply Yusuke is fine." The dark haired boy turns to the notepad Makoto had placed before him. "So...this is the message you’ve decided on, then?"

  
With two cards already under their collective belts, the card for Kaneshiro comes together without much issue. Ryuji is glad to have Makoto working with them, because it means he maybe won't get that cramp in his hand again from having to cut tiny little pieces of paper out of magazines with an x-acto knife. More people also means the card assembly gets done in record time--though, he's not sure he likes how quickly Makoto drops distributing the cards in his lap. She makes Ryuji work pretty hard putting them up in basically every corner of Shibuya in return for her buying dinner--though, he supposes he can't really complain. He _did_ get food out of it.

Yusuke is waiting for him when he's done with a cold water in his hand. Ryuji takes the offered drink with a grateful look, dropping heavily to sit on one of the stairs.

"You, man, are a _lifesaver_." Ryuji manages once he's downed half the bottle.

Yusuke raises an eyebrow. "You said staying hydrated was important, some time ago. And you looked like you were sprinting around all of Shibuya."

Ryuji just hums, taking a smaller sip of his water.

"I’d been a little concerned, but it seemed like you and Makoto had things under control when I arrived earlier." Yusuke sits on the stair beside Ryuji now, expression thoughtful. Ryuji had seen their group chat earlier, right before he’d asked Yusuke to come lend a hand. It seemed like Yusuke still had some amount of faith in Ryuji’s work on the calling cards, at least. "Though, it did get finished much faster with three of us."

"It's like when you did all the design work on my mom's computer--it was to save us time."

Yusuke nods.

They fall into a comfortable silence, watching the bustling walkway just beyond their stairwell. Shibuya is always lively no matter the time of day, bursting with light and sound. Ryuji thinks he might appreciate it more with what they've seen in Kaneshiro's Palace, where the sky is dark, the lights muted. No walking, talking ATMs is nice, too.

"How is your mother?" Yusuke asks, breaking the silence between them.

Ryuji glances up, then shrugs. "She's good."

Before finding Kaneshiro’s Palace, Yusuke had made good on his promise to thank Ryuji's mother for having him over when they wrote Madarame’s calling card. He presented a modest box of macarons to her, bowing deeply and thanking her in that kind of stuck-up way that’s just entirely Yusuke. Ryuji’s mom just beamed and ruffled Yusuke’s hair, leaving the artist blinking in surprise and unable to respond for a while. He’d walked back to the station an hour later, his hair still mussed up. Ryuji’s mom still sometimes brings him up when talking with Ryuji--oddly enough, she seemed to have taken a liking to him.

"I'm glad to hear it." Yusuke turns to him. "Are you ready for tomorrow?"

Ryuji frowns. "'m fine, dude. Don't worry about it."

"This is our most devious foe yet. Forgive me for having concerns."

Ryuji huffs. "’s okay. I mean--we've gotten past everything that's been thrown at us so far. 'm sure we'll be okay." He leans back on his elbows. "We've got our leader, and Makoto now too. They'll be able to help us out if we get in a tight spot."

"True enough." Yusuke says, tone thoughtful. "We've plenty of people to rely on within our group. You're most likely right."

"Yeah. It'll be fine." Ryuji finishes his water and crunches the bottle up in his hand. The more he thinks about the Treasure laying in wait for them in that damn bank, the more antsy he gets--he felt just as antsy after doing the calling cards for Kamoshida and Madarame.

Ryuji hates waiting.

He glances over at Yusuke once or twice, wanting to say more. He wants to know if Yusuke’s stuck it to that guy from the art show yet. He wants to know if they can go get a meal after Mementos again. He wants to know if Yusuke is settled okay in the dorms.

Ryuji frowns. All he knows is how to be direct about it. He’s not like Akira--he can’t gently coax out the things troubling his friends.

Eventually, the silence drags on for too long. Yusuke seems to take no notice of the awkwardness as per usual, and stands.

“You did well with the card today.” Yusuke smiles thinly. “But it’s time we both rested. I will see you at the hideout tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Seeya.”

Ryuji watches Yusuke disappear into the crowd, and wishes he’d worked up the nerve to ask more about his life. Or, maybe just ask if he wanted to get another beef bowl after the Palace, at the very least.

  
One of the cards he’d put up has found its way into the station--probably picked up and carried by the breeze outside. Ryuji snatches it up and shoves it in his bag. He’d forgotten to save one card to keep for himself--it would go at the bottom of his desk drawer, right next to the cards for Kamoshida and Madarame.

  
The Palace has fallen from the sky, and there is a gold briefcase in their possession. For all they know, the public will see this mob boss turn himself in and see that the Phantom Thieves really are trying to help.

Ryuji follows the others down the stairs from Akira’s room into Leblanc proper. Ann is busy waving goodbye to Boss, Makoto is rooting through her purse for her train pass, and Yusuke has paused to regard the painting hanging near the entrance.

He doesn’t want to leave their company just yet, even though they’ve just spent a whole day fighting at each other’s side.

His stomach rumbles, and he remembers the extra pocket money in his wallet.

“Hey, Boss?” Ryuji leans against the counter. Sojiro turns his way, regarding him. “How much to get us all some curry?”

Ann’s interest is instantly piqued, and she’s suddenly hanging off his shoulder. “Oho, you’re buying us dinner?”

Ryuji’s face instantly goes red. “M-Maybe! Don’t make me change my mind!”

Makoto lets out a breath, her smile brightening her face in a pretty sort of way. When Ryuji glances over, Yusuke’s expression is open, the smallest of smiles on his face as well.

Boss just laughs quietly, shaking his head. “You kids are something else.” He gestures for Akira to join him behind the counter. “You’re helping me out with this.”

Their meal ends up being on the house, and their chatter fills the entire cafe with sound. It serves as yet another reminder that Ryuji isn’t alone in this. That none of them are.

sir junya kaneshiro  
the money-devouring sinner of gluttony  
you indulge in scamming others with horrendous methods  
that target minors exclusively  
we have decided to make you confess all your crimes  
with your own mouth  
we will take your distorted desires without fail


	4. wrath

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> me: man, i really need to work on this chapter. i need something to get me back in the ryuji mindset  
> me: watches the ryuji swears a lot compilation
> 
> anyway, thanks for your patience! i had a lot of stuff happen since the last time i updated, and i hope you're all doing alright!!

Suddenly it’s summer.

It’s Ryuji’s favorite season, in spite of the heat. It’s the part of the year where he can relax and do whatever the hell he wants with his time without anyone telling him what to do.

So, naturally, that means a worldwide criminal hacking organization has declared war on the Phantom Thieves and someone is hacking Akira’s phone every two minutes to tell them what to do.

This is officially going to be the worst summer vacation ever, and _yes_ Ryuji is putting that up against last year when he had to deal with a leg cast and physical therapy. At least he got to play video games all day last year and not worry that he might get arrested every five seconds--he hates being controlled like this. It reminds him a little of Kamoshida supervising track practice, just in how this Alibaba guy is flexing his power, showing his control.

This is probably the closest they’ve come to having their identities revealed to the public. Before there was always the possibility of getting caught, sure, but the Phantom Thieves have managed to get by. But being told that their identities might be revealed by someone who could be millions of miles away is unsettling.

Ryuji isn’t thrilled about the prospect of going to juvie, obviously, but he’s a little surprised that he’s more concerned for his teammates and for his mother. Ann, Makoto and Yusuke all have better-looking futures, and Akira’s already been through enough so he doesn’t deserve any more of this shit. And his mom...Ryuji hates thinking about what might happen to his mom if they’re revealed. Whenever he thinks about making her cry again, he wants to smash in a Shadow with his new bat.

Even in their normal lives things suck. Ryuji recently almost had his lights punched out by the former track team about all the stuff he found out about Yamauchi. Ann’s started to complain more about her modelling career when they hang out, and this woman she’s declared as her rival. Makoto seems to be trying to lighten up, which hasn’t made her any less intimidating to be around. At least she’s a little easier to understand now.

Yusuke is still tense, but at least he’s starting to text Ryuji without prompting again. A lot of the time it’s just art stuff, just photos of sketches Yusuke thought Ryuji might like or wanted his thoughts on. Ryuji is glad that he’s not nearly as irritated as he was. (Are all artist types easily upset like that, he wonders?) Doesn’t change that he still every once in a while complains about that guy from his art show, and Ryuji kind of wishes he knew how to respond better when it comes up.

So yeah. This summer has sucked so far. Ryuji’s favorite season is being twisted against him and he hates it.

And then it gets both better and worse.

Things that also suck: having a Palace in the middle of the god damn desert. Having to walk at all through sunbaked sand in bare feet. Being beaten up in the back of a slightly cooler but still too warm van that the magic talking cat turned into.

Things that are okay: having really good air conditioning in the Palace. The ten seconds right before being beaten up in the back of the Mona Bus.

The pyramid itself is kind of cool, if Ryuji has to admit it. All of the Palaces so far have been _weird_ , but had something kinda cool about them. (Except Kamoshida. That rat bastard’s Palace was downright disgusting. It’s been months and it still makes Ryuji wanna puke.) Ryuji likes the weird mix of modern and really old Egyptian stuff they see around them--he’s not Yusuke, but he can appreciate it too.

“I think I get it, Fox.” Ann says as she finishes off a water bottle Makoto had held out to her.

They’re resting up in a safe room, and commenting on the mural they’d just put back into place. Ryuji feels for Futaba--he’s very close with his own mother, and just the thought of losing her makes his heart seize up in his chest painfully. He can only imagine what Futaba’s dealing with, even if they’re technically seeing how she views the world here in her Palace.

“There’s...just something really interesting in how this Palace looks and feels.” Ann tilts her head, idly tapping the bottom edge of her mask. “You’re right, this place is nice to look at.”

“Ahh--” Yusuke starts, and Ryuji huffs a little. Art explanation time. “Yes. The outside certainly does reflect the _golden ratio_ in terms of its dimensions, but the wonderful anachronism of a modern day hologram and the sarcophagi of Ancient Egypt is truly a delight for the eyes.”

“I’m more interested in the mural we saw.” Makoto says. She touches her hand to her chin, clearly thinking. “If it truly was a memory of Futaba having someone read her the suicide note her mother left, then…”

Ryuji feels his jaw clench. “The hell kinda adult _does that_ to a little kid? Don’t they know what that would do to Futaba?”

Makoto’s expression is hard to read behind her mask. She doesn’t respond.

“Obviously, we won’t know for sure.” Morgana starts. Everyone turns to where he stands on the end of the table. “All we know at the moment is that her mother did commit suicide, and that the note implicated a maternity neurosis. We won’t know more until we make our way further into the Palace.”

“We’ve only just gotten started.” Akira says, in the gentle but still commanding tone he uses when addressing their Phantom Thieves business. “I think that we’ve made good progress so far, and we have a decent idea of what we may be able to expect here.” Akira turns to Ryuji and Ann. “Skull, Panther, how’s our supply doing?”

“We’re good on medicine.” Ryuji says. “I double checked it like I always do when we got here.”

“I’m almost out of ammo, though.” Ann drums her hands on the table. “And from what I saw, I think everyone else might be too.”

“Not like we have much to begin with.” Morgana murmurs.

“Given the kinds of enemies we’ve seen so far, it’s likely we will be using our guns more often, as well as our Personas’ abilities.” Makoto crosses her arms. “I think it might be best if we spend some time either preparing in Mementos or revisiting the parts of this Palace we’ve already seen.”

“That sounds reasonable.” Akira nods. “Fox, how is our map?”

Yusuke leans over towards the table next to where Ryuji is sitting. “I’ve kept track of our progress so far. It appears that we have two more chambers if we wish to proceed back to the door we saw when we first entered the Palace.”

Morgana smirks, crossing his furry little arms across his chest. “Joker, I think this would be a good place to stop if we wanted to retreat for the day. We keep this pace and we should secure our route pretty quickly.”

Akira is quiet for a moment, before finally saying, “I think I agree with Queen that we should prepare a little more so our infiltration goes smoothly. Would everyone be alright if we stayed here a little longer to do so?”

Ryuji nods, and he watches as the others quickly do the same.

“Alright, we’re going to stay here a bit longer.” Akira looks towards Ann and Makoto. “Panther, Queen, I’d like you two to be on the starting line with Mona. Skull, Fox, I trust you to hold the rear.”

“Sure thing, leader.” Ryuji beams--he never minds bringing up the rear. It just means Akira trusts him to watch their backs the way that Ryuji trusts Akira.

“Okay then.” Akira adjusts his gloves, the corner of his mouth quirking up. “Let’s go.”

Joker leads the way out of the safe room, followed closely by the girls and Morgana. Ryuji hangs back a moment before following at a distance with Yusuke in tow. They hop from hiding spot to hiding spot, careful to keep the other group in their field of view.

“You wanna grab a beef bowl once we’re done today?” Ryuji asks eventually. They just finished taking out a stray Shadow, and he motions for Yusuke to stay close.

“I would like that very much.” Yusuke says quietly as he straightens up, sheathing his katana. “It’s been a while.”

It’s true--between the track team and the art stuff Yusuke is doing, neither have really been able to go out for food after Mementos like they used to. Maybe it’s too hot outside to really enjoy it now, but it’s their thing.

“Yeah.” Ryuji’s eyes scan the hallway behind them as Yusuke darts forward to keep an eye on the others. “Guess we’ve just had a lot goin’ on is all.”

“Mmm.” Yusuke shifts, pressing himself to the wall as his eyes scan for Akira’s group.

Ryuji does his best to settle into the shadows next to Yusuke, hoping they aren’t sticking out of their hiding spot as much as he thinks they are. Yusuke doesn’t hide the way Akira does by being as against the wall as possible and it’s a little hard to deal with; Ryuji can’t settle next to him the way he does with Akira. But, he moves as close as he can to keep them both out of sight.

He leans forward to spot their friends, steadying himself by putting his arm across Yusuke’s front leg. He feels Yusuke shift to give him more room, feels when Yusuke turns his head to peer out behind them to be sure they won’t get jumped.

“You finish that painting you were working on?” Ryuji murmurs, hopefully quiet enough that Yusuke is the only one who hears.

Yusuke makes a quiet noise, and his breath ruffles Ryuji’s hair a little. Ryuji thinks that means he wants clarification.

“Not the art show one, but the one you texted me about.” Ryuji swivels enough to meet Yusuke’s eye over his shoulder. “Couple days ago?”

Yusuke blinks, and this close up Ryuji can see the tinge of blue to his eyes. Fox’s eyes flicker away from Ryuji’s face to where their friends have ambushed a Shadow at least sixty feet down the hall.

“I...ended up not doing much work on it.”

Ryuji raises an eyebrow behind his mask. He glances behind them again, then turns his attention back to the party before them. “Why not?”

“...It’s a long story.”

Ryuji and Yusuke watch as Ann falls victim to one Shadow and shrinks down to the size of a mouse. Ryuji lets out a breath.

“I think we’re going to be here a while.” Ryuji says it more like a question than anything else, hoping it will prompt Yusuke into talking.

Yusuke is quiet for a long moment, and if he didn’t know any better, Ryuji would say that he was ignoring the tone of Ryuji’s statement. Instead, it only takes a quick look to know that Yusuke is trying to put his thoughts together. It happens a lot when they go to eat and talk about things.

“...I went home.” Yusuke says, finally. Ryuji is about to ask when he turns pink under his mask and adds, “I-I mean, back to Madarame’s house.”

Ryuji tilts his head, turning away from the battle in front of them. “Yeah?”

“I thought...returning to where my passion began might help where I am now. But, to be honest...I am afraid I am only more conflicted now.”

He wants to ask for clarification, but he doesn’t get the chance to right away. The fight ends further down the hallway, and Akira calls both of them closer to join back up. The group as a whole decides to leave before anything else can attack, and it’s not until Yusuke and Ryuji are sitting down to their meal that Ryuji can respond.

“So what happened to just make things worse…?”

Yusuke is quiet for a moment, eyes cast down to his hands. Ryuji can see traces of charcoal and ink at the edges of his fingernails, built up over time.

“Someone has offered to...well, in a way, take Madarame’s place. Be a mentor to me, but instead of taking my ideas, give me direction.”

Ryuji blinks. “Well, that’s good, isn’t it?”

Yusuke glances up, brows drawing together. “What?”

“It’s like…” Ryuji’s leg jitters as he tries to come up with the words. “It’s like what I did with the track team--I helped get them back on their feet, helped run off this teacher who was basically no better than Kamoshida was. Helped them out. Got the shit beat outta me for it, but eh. I got to make sure they’d be okay.”

Yusuke frowns. “When did that happen?”

“Oh, last week. The past couple months I’ve been kind of working on helping the team out. But that’s not the point right now--”

“You were assaulted, Ryuji, I believe that warrants discussion.”

“It’s in the past, it’s not like you can change that it happened.” Akira already scolded him enough for the way Ryuji told the team to kick his ass, even more than Ryuji’s mom did. “Anyway, what I mean is--god, how did Mom put it--it was like a second chance. Another chance to start, to do things the way they should be done.”

Yusuke lets out a breath, the irritation leaving his face to be replaced by unease. “Akira said roughly the same to me, after the man spoke with us. But...I don’t know if I can trust him at his word. This man seemed...well, as you might say, _sketchy_.”

“Right.” Ryuji can follow the thinking--why trust someone who just feels like he’ll do the same thing? “You could probably just hear him out. See what he wants. If that helps, at least. If he’s gonna be an actual mentor to you and not treat you the way Madarame did, it might be worth it.”

Yusuke watches him, his expression hard to read. He studies Ryuji’s face before turning to watch the restaurant worker in front of them. “It might be, yes.”

Their meal comes to them shortly after, and they’re both so hungry that neither says a thing until both bowls are empty. Ryuji settles back in his chair once he does, stretching out his arm and managing not to smack anyone trying to pass behind him. Yusuke takes his time like usual, pausing to savor every few bites like it’s something off the buffet tables at the Wilton hotel and not partially burnt.

Ryuji knows that Yusuke is a smart guy, so he has no doubts that he’ll be able to figure this out. All he’d need to do if this guy turned out just as bad is tell Ryuji where to punch.

They finish their meals in relative quiet, and Ryuji is glad he brought along more pocket change than usual.

As he puts away his change and picks up his bag, Ryuji glances up at Yusuke. “Hey man, you down to grab a crepe before running home…?”

Yusuke blinks once, twice, before tilting his head in thought. “As much as I would enjoy that, I am afraid I must decline.”

Ryuji makes a quiet noise, confused. Yusuke _always_ wants a crepe, even though Ryuji rarely has enough on him to splash out and get them.

“I made no progress on that painting you asked me about before. I need to do at least something on it before I go to sleep.”

“Oh.” Ryuji shrugs. “Sure thing, man. But I’m gonna be pretty free when we’re not doing our thing in the Palace. Just let me know when you wanna grab one?”

Yusuke nods, adjusting the strap to his own bag. “I will do so. Thank you for the meal, as always.”

“No prob.”

Yusuke inclines his head, and they fall silent until they part ways in the station.

This calling card is going to be a bit weird just because they only need _one_ , and even then half of it’s done.

Ryuji had gotten a chance to look at it before it was left in Akira’s things, and it wasn’t the same as the ones he’d made with Yusuke and Makoto before. Maybe this one was a bit glossier, and seemed more “professional” but it wasn’t the same. Ryuji wondered where Futaba had gotten it--and then, his mom mentions a lady she worked with finding her daughter trying to buy a fake calling card online, and it makes a little more sense.

He’s also not entirely sure how they’ll word the message this time, either. Futaba’s just a kid, dealing with the grief of losing her mom. She’s nothing like Kamoshida or Madrame or Kaneshiro, not in the _least_.

He can probably count on Ms. Big Vocabulary herself to help him with what they want to say, since Makoto had gotten such a quick grasp on what the cards needed to sound like last time. Besides that, Ryuji can easily handle cutting the words out and _preparing_ the card itself.

With Yusuke so busy...it might be best not to distract him. If he could just barely spare time for a beef bowl, he’s probably spending as many waking moments as he can either having Akira help him or trying to finish his projects over the summer. Ryuji knows better than to interrupt that. If he really wants to help anyway, he surely knows that he just needs to show up.

So, the day they reach the door leading to the higher chambers of Futaba’s Palace, Ryuji asks Morgana to hand over the card that Futaba sent them and for Makoto’s help. Makoto heaves a weary sigh--what, is Ryuji _that_ hard to deal with or something?--and agrees to work with him.

Ryuji ignores the way he suddenly feels a harsh gaze on the back of his neck. Palaces, man, they always give him the heebie jeebies.

The Thieves leave the Metaverse, and disperse their separate ways. Ryuji waves goodbye to Ann and Akira, and spots Yusuke almost out the door.

“Yo, Yusuke--” Yusuke doesn’t even pause in the doorway, doesn’t even look back. “See you later?”

Yusuke waves a hand, sparing a quick glance over his shoulder. His brows are knitted together on his forehead, but he’s turned away so fast that Ryuji can’t even tell what it’s for.

Makoto pauses next to him as Ryuji blinks, not quite sure of what just happened. He turns to her. “You see that?”

“That was certainly not as polite as Yusuke normally is.”

“...was it something I said?”

“I honestly couldn’t say.” Makoto smiles gently. “Well--shall we be off?”

Ryuji nods. Soon they find themselves on a train bound for Shibuya, and all he can think about is the way the door to Leblanc slammed shut as Yusuke left.

Ryuji officially hates deserts, and pyramids, and anything to do with either of them forever. He now _especially_ hates whatever flying creature Futaba’s mom was in that damn Palace because he could hardly sleep a wink afterwards.

Also, his ass hurts from where he fell out of sky onto the sidewalk.

Obviously, though, the most important thing is that Futaba is okay. She’s passed out at home, oblivious to the time ticking away for Medjed to be dealt with. It sucks because they need her to take care of them somehow, but really all they can do now is wait.

Ryuji hates waiting. He’s always known that.

Yusuke hasn’t responded to him since the day Ryuji and Makoto made the calling card, either. He even asks if he wants to get crepes again--and still, no response.

Ryuji takes Ann instead, and he laughs along when Ann talks about that Mika girl. He tries not to think about Yusuke.

> **To: smooth criminal** **🔫** **Akira  
** hey man  
you heard from yusuke lately?

 **> To: no mo rules 💥 Ryuji  
** Nothing other than the usual.  
y?

 **> To: smooth criminal ** **🔫** **Akira  
** just…  
did he seem weird to you?

 **> To: no mo rules 💥 Ryuji  
**He’s a little eccentric ryuji but tbf i think we all are at least a lil weird

 **> To: smooth criminal ** **🔫** **Akira  
** nononono  
like. when he left the other day. when we were doin the card?  
he ran off w/out sayin goodbye  
it was kinda weird, right?

 **> To: no mo rules 💥 Ryuji  
** For his standard of politeness, yea  
He’s kinda stressed rn, i think  
That Kawanabe guy gave him a lot to think about  
maybe try to say hi?  
He’ll prolly appreciate that

 **> To: smooth criminal ** **🔫** **Akira  
** k  
i’ll do that

It’s two days until Medjed attacks Japan, and Futaba is still out of commission. Yusuke hasn’t talked to him in a while, and Ryuji’s worried.

It doesn’t help that Akira calls him, which he doesn’t do very often.

“What’s up?” He asks, hoping he doesn’t sound _too_ panicked. “You okay?”

“I’m fine,” Akira lets out a breath, and Ryuji does the same. He feels calmer already. “No emergency, I promise.”

“Okay…?” Where was he going with this?

“You’re still having issues with Yusuke, yeah?”

“Apparently.”

“Well, aside from the guy I told you about, I think he may actually be upset with you. A little bit, at least.”

Ryuji feels something settle heavy in his chest. “I kinda figured as much at this point.”

Akira makes a small, comforting noise. “He wouldn’t tell me what it was, but it was clear he’s upset about _something_ but he’s had too much going on to really address it. If you wanna talk to him about it--”

“Yeah, ‘course I do!”

“--he just let me know he’s in the underground walkway in Shibuya. I need to go check on Futaba, but I haven’t told him I won’t be there just yet.”

Ryuji could kiss that guy on the mouth. “Akira, you’re a bro.”

“I do my best.” Before Ryuji can hang up, he adds, “Just--be careful. We met with that art show guy, Kawanabe, for dinner a couple days ago. It didn’t really go the way either of us thought it would, and I’m not sure I was able to reassure him the way he needed. Just so you know.”

“Alright--thanks.”

“Mmm.” Akira lets out a quiet breath. “And I think you’ll be able to figure it out--you’re probably his closest friend aside from me.”

Ryuji nods a little. “Okay. Thanks, really.”

“You’re welcome, Ryuji.” He can hear the fond smile in Akira’s voice. “Let me know if you need anything from Iwai’s shop, since I’m dropping by tonight to work.”

“Will do.”

They say goodbye, and within minutes Ryuji’s tugged on his sneakers and is sprinting to the train for Shibuya.

Yusuke is hovering near the staircase to Central Street, the way he often is when Ryuji spots him on the weekend. He hasn’t noticed Ryuji approaching just yet, which means he may not be able to bolt if he wants out of this.

“Yusuke!” Ryuji says when he’s about ten feet away.

Ryuji watches as the taller boy starts, head swivelling around to find the location of the voice. Then, Yusuke’s eyes settle on Ryuji and his expression falls, his brows knitting together.

“Ryuji.” He responds, tone clipped.

“Sorry to startle you.” Ryuji comes to a stop closer to Yusuke, rubbing the back of his neck. “But I was--uh, hoping we could talk? I haven’t really been able to since we helped Futaba.”

Yusuke lets out a small breath. “We have not.”

“So.” Ryuji feels so damn _awkward_ now. He settles into his default of buying someone food to lift their mood. “You--you want a crepe or a popsicle or something?”

Based on Yusuke’s expression, this was the right thing to say.

Once they’re settled near Hachiko’s statue in the shade with their popsicles, Ryuji thinks it’s okay to say something. “I’m gonna come right out with it--Did I do something to piss you off?”

Yusuke is quiet as he folds up the popsicle wrapper, shoves it into his pocket to throw away later. “I...wouldn’t say I’m ‘pissed off’?”

“You haven’t talked to me in over a week outside of our group texts, dude, I think you’re mad.”

He sighs, and his shoulders slump as if he’s been carrying the weight of the world. Ryuji frowns, leaning forward to watch his face.

“Was it something I did?”

“I…” Yusuke’s cheeks turn pink, almost as if he’s embarrassed. “...I wanted to help you with the calling card.”

Ryuji blinks.

“You had done the first on your own, but you and I worked on both Madarame and Kaneshiro’s cards. And...I was waiting for you to ask me to help again. But you didn’t.”

“...huh?”

Yusuke gives Ryuji a look.

“Uh.” Ryuji isn’t sure what the problem is. “That’s what you were mad about?”

Yusuke purses his lips. “Is it wrong to wish for a proper invitation?”

“Dude--dude, you didn’t _need_ one if you wanted to help out with it.” Ryuji lets out a breath. “You could’ve just said something, if you really wanted to.”

Yusuke blinks, the anger vanishing from his face.

“A-And--” Can someone explain why _Ryuji_ is the embarrassed one now? “--You’ve got a lot of shit goin’ on right now. You didn’t even have time to get a crepe, so I figured you need to do your art thing instead of being distracted with stuff.”

Yusuke is silent, and has turned away so it’s hard for Ryuji to see his face.

“Why did you get so upset about it, anyway?”

Ryuji can definitely see Yusuke turn redder. “...to use more common vernacular...it was our ‘thing’.”

“...oh.”

They both fall quiet, taking a moment to figure out just what seemed to have happened. Eventually, Ryuji lets out a breath.

“You’re okay to come help with the cards, alright?” He starts, kind of quietly. “‘M gonna outright say it now--you don’t need me to ask you. Just show up and you’re good.” He jiggles his leg, feeling his own face warm up. “And the card wasn’t as good as all the other ones, anyway.”

Yusuke glances over, raising an eyebrow in question.

“...It wasn’t actually your card. I think Futaba just bought someone's copy of it online.” Ryuji mumbles, very quickly hiding his embarrassment by shoving his popsicle into his mouth.

When he looks up, Yusuke is red in the face as well. But, he can see the faintest trace of a smile. He thinks that they may be okay now.

Good. He missed spending time with Yusuke.

Futaba nukes the hell out of Medjed, and they work with her enough for her to be okay going to the beach. Ryuji’s excited for a chance to actually enjoy their break before school starts back up again (and, yes, seeing the girls in swimsuits. So sue him).

He buys Yusuke a popsicle when the artist looks about ready to wilt in the sun, and even holds out the one he’d gotten himself when some kid runs headfirst into Yusuke and knocks it out of his hand. Ryuji thinks maybe he should have let Yusuke buy his own popsicle, though, if only because it means he wouldn’t be going with Yusuke to return the damn lobsters he’d bought. He’s surprised to find later that he’s not so much angry as he is fondly irritated.

Maybe this summer turned out pretty okay after all.

futaba sakura  
has committed a great sin of drowning in sloth  
thus, we will rob every last bit  
of those distorted desires

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so this chapter ended up being a bit shorter than i anticipated, but i think it turned out alright. this was the chapter i was kind of dreading tbh, bc i wasn't sure how to work the whole bit where ryuji only outright asks makoto. using the confidant stuff for yusuke really helped set the scene for it, and i'm glad i realized i should use it. (edit: also i forgot to add that i spent an hour and loaded three separate save files just to see what ryuji and yusuke look like when hiding in corners just so could write it decently well so please appreciate the dumb research i do for these two idiot boys)
> 
> thank you for all the support btw! i'm just really glad you guys are enjoying this fic so far, and i do hope to update again soon (considering i have more time to write with everything going on in the world). i hope you're all doing okay out there <3
> 
> look forward to more soon!!!! =w=b


	5. greed

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> so i'll talk a little more in depth at the end but! my roommate kes and i finished royal recently. it was....so good. but no spoilers i promise so yall are good. anyway, more at the end but wanted to let y'all know upfront!

Okay, so Ryuji and Morgana have always had this thing between them. This _feud_. They trade insults back and forth--Ryuji reminding Morgana that he’s a cat, Morgana basically calling Ryuji stupid, things like that. Ryuji still very fondly remembers when Akira had to pretend the cat was a toy and smashed on his head for a little girl; nothing will ever top that, really. All really minor shit, at least to Ryuji. Because while _yeah_ , being told he’s dumb all the time sucks, Morgana is also a pretentious jerk most of the time so Ryuji doesn’t care what the cat thinks.

But, suddenly, the jabs are laced with a lot more venom on the cat’s end. Ryuji has _no_ idea what Morgana’s deal is.

It starts at the very end of their trip to the beach with Futaba. She officially joins the group as Oracle, more than ready to pick up Morgana’s slack by guiding them through Palaces and Mementos. Combined with Makoto’s ability to find Shadow weaknesses at almost a single glance, going deeper and deeper into Mementos is gonna be easier than before.

Ryuji is happy to point out that Futaba is going to be dependable--and that she was a hell of a lot more useful than Mona when fighting the cognition of her mom. Morgana bristles up, as always, and they argue while the others try to figure out Futaba’s code name. On the way back home, Ryuji and Morgana shoot a few more insults between them, though eventually Akira lightly taps his foot against Ryuji’s shin to get him to stop bullying his cat.

Well, whatever. Ryuji knows he’s right, and that Futaba is gonna be much more reliable than Mona as a navigator. She’s a world-renowned hacker, after all! If she’s helping them track down the person behind the mental shutdowns, then there’s no doubt the Phantom Thieves will win and be even more popular than ever.

Which--the popularity thing? Right up Ryuji’s alley, he has to say. Of course, no one _actually_ knows who they are, but hearing people saying so many good things about the Thieves, talking about the PhanSite and the poll and their requests, just makes Ryuji even more excited to see what percent of the people in Tokyo--hell, even the rest of Japan and maybe even the world!--think of the Phantom Thieves’ justice. To see how many people support them.

Ryuji can’t wait to show off even more. Maybe someday everyone will recognize their work as the Phantom Thieves as truly just, and they can come out of the woodwork.

  
  


With six people, the Mona Bus is starting to feel a little cramped.

Sure, there’s three rows of seats, but the Mona Bus is small to begin with. It didn’t seem that way at first, back before Yusuke joined; now, though, they have Futaba stretching out in the back to navigate and have her laptop out, Ann up with Makoto in the front to drive, and Yusuke is sandwiched between Ryuji and Akira in the middle row.

Given the kinda queasy look on Yusuke’s face right now, though, maybe Ryuji should be in the middle instead. Who knows when they’ll have to pull over so Yusuke can lose his lunch. Though, to be fair to the guy, riding around in the Mona bus isn’t exactly what Ryuji would call a _smooth ride_.

Ryuji bumps the back of the front seat with his foot.

“Can we try to not bounce so much, guys? Fox is motion sick again.” Ryuji says.

Yusuke gives him a sharp look. “I’ll be _fine_.” He says, though they go over a bump immediately after he says so and he makes a sad sort of noise that makes it clear that he’s only another road bump away from puking.

“I’m doing my best, I promise.” Makoto glances up at them through the rearview mirror. “Oracle, how far are we from a floor where we can rest?”

“Mmm, I think we have at least one more floor.” Futaba pokes her head up from her laptop. “You just gotta wait to puke, Inari.”

Yusuke drops his head into his hands, pushing up his mask so he can rub his eyes. Akira frowns, concerned, and sets a comforting hand on Yusuke’s back. Ryuji does the same, though it probably won’t do much to help.

“Make it less bumpy, then, Mona!” Ryuji says.

“ _UGH_.” Sounds from around them. (Morgana talking while being the Mona Bus is really effin weird, but they’ve all gotten used to it by now.) “ ** _You_ ** _get out and turn into a bus and see how easy it is, then, Skull!_ ”

Ryuji kicks at the side of the bus, and the whole goddamn thing jerks into the air and jostles everyone inside. Yusuke makes a noise similar to the ones he makes when he gets caught in a Shadow’s Agi spell, and there’s a chorus of other noise in the bus.

“ _Ryuji_.” Akira says sharply, probably the most angry he’s been since Ryuji got his ass handed to him by the track team. When Ryuji turns to meet his eyes, Akira looks livid. “I’m not going to say it again-- _knock it off_.”

They hold each other’s gaze for a long, tense moment. Ryuji and Akira’s friendship has always had an easy air to it, but since Mona’s started being more of a jerk lately, Akira’s been getting more frustrated than usual with Ryuji’s teasing. Ryuji’s not sure why, but he gets that it probably has something to do with Akira being the one to take care of Morgana out in the normal world. Well, whatever. It’s not Ryuji’s fault that Morgana’s being an ass.

Akira turns his attention back to Yusuke, promising that they’ll stop soon.

“Yeah, stop picking on Mona.” Ann turns around and whacks at Ryuji’s arm with the back of her hand.

Ryuji makes a noise with his teeth, turning away. If Morgana could make the ride any less bumpy, Yusuke wouldn’t be having this problem to begin with.

Fifteen minutes later, they reach a platform where they can stop for a break. Makoto and Ann follow Yusuke when he beelines for the edge of the platform to hurl. Ryuji follows Futaba, Akira and Morgana to the seats and drops heavily onto one.

“How close are we to the end of this place?” Akira asks.

Morgana opens his mouth to answer--probably another _I don’t know_ , if Ryuji has to guess--but it’s Futaba who cuts in.

“I’d say we’re a little over halfway through this area.” Futaba taps at the side of her mask. “But this place goes really deep underground. It may take a while to get all the way there.”

Akira nods a little, and Ryuji watches as their leader spares a glance to Mona, whose ears have dropped the way they do when he’s uneasy. Ryuji suspects that the fact that Akira totes Mona around everywhere means he may actually know what the hell is going on there.

Ann and Makoto join them shortly, Yusuke trudging between them. He still looks a little too pale in the face, so he probably won’t last much longer.

“Well, I think this may be as far as we get today.” Akira says once everyone’s settled with some water. “I don’t want to push you, Fox, since today seems worse than usual.”

Yusuke makes a quiet noise, his eyes squeezed shut behind his mask. Ryuji wonders if he’s trying to keep the water down at least. No beef bowls once they’re done today, probably.

“Oracle says we’re a little over halfway in this part of Mementos. So, that’s progress.” Akira puts his hands in his pockets. “But, I think this is a good place to stop. We’re going to have to figure out a way to beat that cheater, if we’re to help him change. We all have to get packed for our trips and all, too, so it’s probably for the best that we head back now. We’ll pick this up after we come back.”

Oh, right--Hawaii! Ryuji had gotten so caught up in fighting today that he had forgotten.

“Yeah, and we still need the info from Prosecutor Nijima’s computer.” Futaba closes her laptop and shoves it into the bag she’d brought with her. “We’ve got a couple days, so if you get it to me before you leave, we should have enough time for me to filter through everything while you guys are gone.”

“I will do my best to get it tonight.” Makoto crosses her arms over her chest. “Sis has been away at the office more as of late, but hopefully she will be home tonight.”

“Be sure to get rest, though.” Akira turns his attention from Makoto to look over everyone. “And I mean all of us when I say that. We need to be on top of our game now.”

Everyone nods along, and shortly they’re all piling up in the Mona Bus to go back to the entrance of Mementos. Ryuji makes sure he’s sitting in the middle so Yusuke doesn’t have to climb over people if he needs it, and rubs his back when the artist almost instantly bends forward, a pained expression on his face clearly visible in spite of the mask.

Hawaii is very, _very_ pretty, and the girls on the beach are even _prettier_. Ryuji is staring at them as much as he stares at the scenery around them--he’s a teenage boy and it’s kind of what teenage boys do. So sue him.

Things are so different here in some ways, and definitely not in others; he’s got Ann and Akira and Makoto and Mishima with him, and they spend part of their time on Waikiki Beach trolling their phones like it’s just another day in Leblanc. Ryuji even hears talk of the Phantom Thieves, even if it’s not _that_ loud--they are, after all, in a different country--but it still is a thrill.

They’re _famous_ now.

Ryuji knows it’s bad to say that they’re the Phantom Thieves--he _knows_ it, all the way to his bones--but he can’t help the voice that tells him to scream it to the skies above, to find a way to be recognized for the work they’ve all done in reforming society. He craves the recognition, in a way. That little part of him grows louder the longer he spends time with Mishima.

The weird feeling of same-different just gets stronger the following morning when Yusuke arrives. Ryuji doesn’t even realize he’s there at first--by now, he’s so used to Yusuke’s presence because the Thieves spend so much time in each other’s space that it almost doesn’t register. Ryuji just feels something slotting back into place beside him, where it’s supposed to be. It’s only when he looks up to see the new arrival, hears Yusuke speak, that it registers that Yusuke is standing there instead of being wherever the heck Los Angeles is supposed to be.

Yusuke even joins him when he wanders the beaches with Mishima, after Akira’s gone off to do his own thing for the afternoon. Mishima is talking up a storm about the Phan-Site, something about a target he’s spotted and wants the group to take down to boost their popularity even more. Ryuji’s taking it all in, trying not to show how excited he is that the voting function is going so well.

Mishima totters off to get a snack eventually, leaving Ryuji and Yusuke sitting in the shade under a palm tree. Ryuji glances up to see a troubled look on his friend’s face.

“What's wrong, man?” Ryuji nudges him with his elbow. “This place is beautiful! Everything here is great!”

Yusuke readjusts the sleeves of his jacket. “...Is Mishima-kun always like that?”

Ryuji snorts. “What, the _all Phan-Site all the time_ thing? Yeah, pretty much.”

Yusuke’s brows draw together on his forehead. “And the way he’s speaking doesn’t seem alarming to you…?”

Ryuji blinks, not sure he follows. “He’s talking like he usually does.”

“All he seems focused on is the _fame_.” Yusuke purses his lips. “I appreciate that he is giving us targets for Mementos, but I don’t know if I like his tone when he speaks of us.”

“Eh, he’s just having fun.” Ryuji waves a hand. “Besides, ain’t it cool to have people talking about us?”

Yusuke is quiet for a long moment, not meeting Ryuji’s eye. Eventually, he says, “We’ve seen what fame can do to a person. Madarame let it twist him up inside, corrupted him into…” He trails off, a stormy look coming into his eyes. After a moment, he quietly adds, “I’m more than a little concerned about it.”

Ryuji huffs out a breath. “Yusuke, you’re thinking too hard about it.” Yusuke is one of the two over-thinkers of their group, after all. “It’ll be fine, you’ll see.”

Yusuke glances at Ryuji, studying his face for a long moment. He doesn’t look convinced.

They sit in silence for a while after that, Yusuke lost in thought and Ryuji not sure what to make of Yusuke’s questions. Eventually, Yusuke stands and dusts the sand off the back of his swimsuit and wanders away.

Ryuji lets him. He turns his eyes to a girl sunbathing further down the beach, and tries to put stormy blue-gray eyes out of his mind.

  
  


The school trip is just a little too short for Ryuji, but he has to say that having his mom crush him in her arms the moment he walks through the door is incredibly nice (she gives the best hugs). She kisses his face all over in the way that’s always made him laugh and blush and protest, and makes him tell her about everything that happened in Hawaii.

Ryuji grumbles his way awake in the morning, and it’s almost business as usual.

Almost.

He gets to school in time to learn that Principal Kobayakawa is dead, and the Phantom Thieves’ popularity seems to have skyrocketed while they were out of the country. Overnight, almost, it seems like everyone has started talking about them.

Morgana is even pissier than before when they all meet up to see what Futaba’s found out. Yusuke’s hesitation at targeting Okumura based on the evidence and the rankings on the Phan-Site--his comments that their fame has happened too suddenly, too intensely--throws everyone off guard. Ryuji finds himself faltering just like the others, the way he almost did while they were in Hawaii. Morgana runs off in a huff at their indecision, and everything just feels so uncertain all of a sudden.

Ryuji tries not to think much about what Morgana said to him--that he was just trying to pick up girls, and that he was just a _monkey_. But the words settle like chains around his heart anyway. He wasn’t like that, right? He’d helped out his old track team, and faced that part of his past, and Captain Kidd had transformed into Seiten Taisei because of it. Surely that meant he was more than the delinquent Kamoshida made him out to be back at the beginning of the year, right?

Ryuji’s not _too_ concerned about Morgana, truth be told--he’s a strong fighter. He can handle himself. It’s why Ryuji kind of brushes off the concern about him, at first. But then, when the group decides to follow after him into Okumura’s Palace, Ryuji knows they have to. Not just for Morgana--he wants the cat back, yeah, but they have to look into the mental shutdowns, too.

That starts a landslide of problems--the Beauty Thief, and Morgana calling all of them names. Waiting for hours in Mementos while they wait for Morgana and the new girl Haru to turn up. And then, after waiting for so long, everyone getting up in arms when Ryuji tries to apologize. He doesn’t realize what went wrong with his words until later, once they’re home and he can think about it.

But in the end, Morgana comes back to them. They save Haru from her fiance, and find out her situation. Ryuji knows instantly that they have to help her, and she’s going to join their team. It’s a sizable group by the point, but they’re all Ryuji’s teammates.

The more Morgana talks, though, the worse Ryuji feels. He thinks he finally gets it--why Morgana was more prickly than he’d been before, why his insults stung more than usual. Ryuji just kept calling him useless, bringing it up more than he probably should. He was striking a nerve he didn’t know was so exposed.

But what really strikes Ryuji, what keeps him up for the next few nights, staring at his ceiling, is when Morgana admits it.

“I wanted a reason of my own--a reason to stay with the Phantom Thieves.” Morgana admits. “I don’t have anyone I want to save or get revenge on. Someone like me has no reason to stay here.”

Ryuji blinks as Morgana says this, swallows thickly.

“That’s why...to me, this team is…” Ryuji swears Morgana would be blushing if cats could blush. “It’s the only place I can belong!”

Ryuji’s chest tightens, and he can’t help but huff a little. “You shoulda just said that from the start.”

But it sticks in Ryuji’s mind, that moment. That moment of admittance. That moment of openness. It keeps him awake, thinking about his own reason.

Kamoshida was long gone now. What reason did Ryuji have now?

  
There’s an easy answer, of course. His friendships with Akira and the others--he wants to do right by them. Ryuji feels at home with them, the way Morgana does, in a way he hasn’t since Kamoshida broke his leg. These are the only people who can see him and not think that he’s just a fuck-up who can’t make a B to save his life. These are the only people who know that Ryuji is a good person, and who will say so without hesitation.

But something still sits in the back of his mind, making him wonder what else there is. Not that he needs a complicated reason--he just feels like there’s more to it.

Ryuji does apologize to Morgana for what he’d said. In his sleepless nights, he mulled over his words and realized what a shit job he did of saying things. What he probably _meant_ to say in those moments, but hadn’t even occurred to him until now. He doesn’t make excuses, though--he tells Morgana that he’s sorry for being such a stupid idiot. For not thinking before he spoke.

Morgana is sitting on a chair in Akira’s attic room when the apology happens, where he and Ryuji are waiting for the others to finish getting a snack from Boss. His tail flicks, and he meets Ryuji’s eye. Eventually he heaves a heavy sigh.

“I wasn’t being that fair to you, in some ways.” Morgana says. “I didn’t say anything about what was wrong, so. It’s not like you knew what was wrong. It’s fine, Ryuji, I forgive you. Just don’t do it again if you can help it.”

Ryuji lets out a quiet breath, surprised that he’d been holding it. He turns away, nodding a little. “Sure thing, dude.”

The others come back, and they end up not going into either the Palace or Mementos--everyone’s got a lot on their plates, apparently, and Haru’s father has gotten suspicious of her coming home later than usual. Akira’s also still trying to figure out how to beat that one guy who’s cheating in Gun About, too, so it’s not like they could complete a Phan-Site request today either.

Ryuji says goodbye to everyone, but as he’s stepping outside of Leblanc, an arm hooks through his. He looks up to find Ann at his side.

“Can I talk to you?” She asks, chewing at the inside of her lip. When she catches Ryuji’s surprised face, she waves a hand. “It’s nothing about our PT stuff. Just...I need to tell someone who isn’t Akira, I’ve been dumping too much onto him lately. And we haven’t just plain hung out in a while, so I thought it might be nice.”

“Oh, uh. Sure?” Ryuji shrugs. “Any place you wanna go in particular?”

“We could go to the diner in Shibuya? Or you can just come hang out at my place.” Ann twists her hair between her fingers. “Like we used to in middle school.”

They end up deciding to get crepes (no surprise) and heading back to Ann’s. Ryuji hasn’t been invited over here since middle school, so he feels a little weird stepping into the entryway to the Takamaki apartment. But then, Ann says she’ll pull out her Wii so they can play some of the same old games they used to when they hung out, and Ryuji feels less like an intruder.

They play games for a while, just like old times, before Ann remembers she’d wanted to talk to him.

“So...” Ann says, watching Ryuji struggle with the controller as he tries to play Zelda. “Um.”

Ryuji glances over, ignoring the game making noises at him. “What did you want to talk about?”

Ann’s eyes drift to the TV, and her face turns the slightest bit pink. “Well...you know Shiho transferred schools right before break ended?”

“Yeah.” He’d heard about it. “How far did she end up moving?”

“A ways away. But it’s not impossible for us to meet up to see each other.” Ann falls quiet, drawing her knees up and circling her arms around them. “But before she left, before the end of summer break, she asked me if we could see Shujin again, together.”

Ryuji blinks, pausing the game and turning so he can face her. Ann drops her cheek onto her knee, eyes not on Ryuji but something on the far corner of the room. “...Yeah?” he says softly, when she’s quiet for a little too long.

“Akira helped us--she wanted to go to the roof. She said--she said she wanted to see it again. To see if the voice that told her to do it would come back.” Ann’s voice is quiet, but not entirely sad. Her eyes are a little watery. “But she--she said it was gone. That she’s going to be okay.”

Ryuji shifts a little closer, holding out his hand for her to take. She does, squeezing it.

“I’m just...I’m so glad that she’s okay.” Ann sniffles, as if trying not to get too emotional. “That she’s going to be alright, someday.”

“Me too.” Ryuji says it quietly. He’s known both of these girls for ages, and he still remembers the pure dread he’d felt when he heard people whispering Shiho’s name the day she jumped. “I’m glad you were there for her.”

Ann smiles softly, tightening her hold on Ryuji’s hand for just a moment. “You know, a part of me died that day. I felt my heart tear in two when she--” She stutters to a stop, takes a breath and closes her eyes. “Shiho has always been my reason. She’s _always_ been why I do this.”

Ryuji nods, squeezing her hand back. “What Morgana said got to you too, huh?”

Ann lets out a watery laugh, nodding. “It just...made me remember all over again.” She falls quiet again, before adding, “Shiho means everything to me. And--and I dunno. I just. Wanted to say it to someone.”

Ryuji gets it. “I’m surprised you wanted to talk to _me_ about it.”

Ann snorts, a loud, unflattering noise but totally suited to her. She lets go of his hand and pokes his nose. “You may be a jerk sometimes, but you’re one of my best friends, you know.”

He laughs, batting away her hand. “Yeah, yeah, I know.”

Ann swipes at her eyes, taking a breath. “But...yeah. Morgana made me think about it. A lot.”

“And?”

“...I love her, Ryuji. I love her so much it hurts.”

Ryuji sits back against the couch. “Well, then, you love her. Simple as that.”

Ann is quiet again, thinking. “I told her that when we were on the roof. But...it means something even more, now. I mean it in the _I want to be with her_ kind of way. I’d do anything, I think. Just to be with her.”

“Well...tell her, I guess.” She doesn’t seem to be having a crisis over this, so Ryuji figures she should just follow her heart. “You two have always been close. I may not have been _super_ close with her before everything, but I know her well enough to be sure it should be fine.”

Ann watches him for a moment, and doesn’t say anything for a long while. Ryuji feels awkward under her eyes. He picks up the controller after a moment and goes back to the game.

After what feels like forever, Ann speaks up. “What about your reason, Ryuji?”

“Huh?”

“You said that Morgana got to me _too_ \--so what about _your_ reason to be a Phantom Thief?”

Ryuji pauses the game again, letting out a heavy breath. It’s been over a week, but Ryuji still doesn’t know what to say. He feels weird, being so unsure.

“...I feel like Morgana does--you guys are the only thing I got going okay in my life right now.”

Ann is more perceptive than she seems, sometimes. When he goes quiet, she bumps him with her foot. “But?”

“But...I dunno. My reason before was Kamoshida, you know? Gettin’ back at him. And now...I’m definitely in it for the long haul by now, but it feels like there’s something else I can’t put my finger on. Like I forgot it, or something, and it’s sitting there where I can’t reach it.”

Ann pats at his knee. “We’ve got time. You’ll get there. I know you will.”

Ryuji nods, his leg jiggling. He tries to keep his focus on the game, but the thought hangs in the back of his mind, ever present.

  
  


It takes time, but eventually they make it to the Treasure within the Palace and to the end of the new section of Mementos. Akira turns to Ryuji the moment they agree it’s time to send the calling card, and he doesn’t even have to say a word.

“We can handle it.” Ryuji nods, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He glances at Haru. “It’ll be ready for you soon, Haru.”

Makoto squeezes Haru’s shoulder, and the other third year nods.

“Then, I suppose this meeting is adjourned.” Akira nods to everyone. “We’ll meet up briefly tomorrow so Haru can take the card, but otherwise everyone should rest up as much as we can. Monday, we’ll be heading into the Palace to finish this.”

Everyone voices their agreement, and they go their separate ways for the night. Yusuke falls into step with Ryuji as they head to the station, and they make their way to Ryuji’s apartment. It’s a quiet ride--neither of them says much--but it’s not awkward. They’ve both got a lot on their minds, between school and the shit situation Haru’s in and everything else going on in their lives.

“Oh--hi, Yusuke-kun. Ryuji didn’t say you’d be coming over.” Ryuji’s mom says as they both come in through the front door. She kisses Ryuji on the cheek--he protests, but it’s only performative at this point--and pats Yusuke’s shoulder. “How are you?”

“I am doing quite well, Sakamoto-san.” Yusuke smiles warmly and gives her a polite bow. “I’m sorry we didn’t notify you I would be visiting.”

“Eh, it’s okay.” Ryuji’s mom waves a hand. “I’m always happy to have Ryuji’s friends come over so it’s not a problem at all. Homework again?”

Homework has been their excuse in the past when working on the calling cards. Ryuji nods. “Yeah, Ma, more homework stuff.”

“His class covered something my school is only now getting to. He offered to let me see what notes he had.” Yusuke says--they both know it’s a lie, because Ryuji never takes notes.

His mom seems to buy it, though, based on the fact that she nods and smiles, patting Ryuji’s shoulder. “Well, you two do what you need to. I can make dinner if you boys want.”

“Maybe later.” Both Ryuji and Yusuke say, before heading down the hallway to Ryuji’s bedroom.

Yusuke takes Ryuji’s bag from him upon entering, slipping inside past the blonde as quickly as he can. Ryuji holds an ear to the door for a moment, listening as his mom follows them and hesitates before going towards the living room.

“We’re good.” Ryuji says, quietly.

Yusuke nods, taking the low table Ryuji had shoved against the wall and pulling it as quietly as he can to the center of the room. Ryuji makes a beeline for his closet, pulling aside his futon so that he can reach his calling card supplies.

They both set out the cards that Ryuji has held onto--Kamoshida, Madarame, Kaneshiro, and most recently Futaba, in order--and the pad of paper that they’ve used in the past to figure out the wording. Yusuke settles in, already rummaging through his bag for his art supplies.

Both work very quietly as they work out the card’s contents, finding where to cut the words out of the newspapers that Ryuji’s been holding onto and finding a spare printed card. Ryuji figures they could probably find someone selling calling cards, but it seems a bit dumb to buy someone else’s version of the card. Besides, it’s _Yusuke_ ’s design, and Ryuji feels weird when it’s not actually one of their cards because then it’s not really his design any more. The whole thing has to be theirs, not just part of it.

It’s the principle of the thing, he figures.

“I’m glad that Haru is soon to be free of this.” Yusuke says after a while, volume low enough that probably only Ryuji can hear him.

Ryuji glances up. “Yeah, me too. The sooner the better, right?”

“Mmm.” Yusuke falls quiet again for a long moment, carefully brushing ink over the printed lines of the card to make the design clearer. “I realized that I have never asked--why do you keep copies of the cards?”

“Huh?”

“You have copies of the four cards we sent--even made a copy of Futaba’s. Is it purely for the memory…?”

Ryuji is a bit shocked by the question. He feels his face heat up as he turns back to his exacto knife. “I mean...kinda. Futaba’s is ‘cuz Makoto and I wanted to be sure we knew how to place it all in case we messed it up, and I just held onto it.”

“I see.” Yusuke says, but doesn’t press the matter any further. He sets aside his brush, holding up the card that he’s finished inking. “Does that look any better?”

“Oh, yeah. Not as faded any more.” These were leftovers from when they’re printed tons for Kaneshiro, but hadn’t used them all. It’s good that the extras are around, but the shit printer they used meant the ink was rubbing off a little.

“Good.” Yusuke nods, straightening his back and stretching his arms above his head. “I must leave this to dry before moving on to the other side. Do you mind if I sketch in the meantime?”

Ryuji shrugs and makes a noncommittal noise--he’s used to Yusuke sketching whenever he damn well pleases, so he’s not sure why the guy is asking. He turns his focus to the newspaper in his hands. They fall into a comfortable silence, both working on their own things.

Eventually, he hears Yusuke’s stomach quietly growling, and Ryuji thinks this might be a good place to stop for a break. The artist seems to be entirely engrossed in his sketch--from what Ryuji can see, it’s a rendering of one of the trophies that’s been shoved in a corner at an odd angle--and doesn’t react when Ryuji stands up to go find his mom.

She’s sitting on the couch in the living room when Ryuji steps out, and she looks up from her phone when she hears him.

“Hey there. You two have been busy the past couple of hours.” She smiles softly, standing up. Before he can run out of her grasp, she pulls him into a hug. “I’m glad you’re helping him so much.”

“Y-Yeah, Ma.” Ryuji mumbles, trying to hide the flush in his cheeks. He feels so, _so_ awful for keeping all of this from her, but he knows it would only spell trouble if she knew what he was doing in his spare time. He doesn’t want her to have any more trouble because of him.

“I’m guessing you both could use something to eat.” His mother releases him, already stepping through the doorway to the kitchen. “You mind giving me a hand?”

“No, never.” Ryuji’s already pulling out the rice cooker for her, anyway, and he needs to move his bad knee or he’ll be regretting it in the morning.

Dinner is kind of small, but it’s done pretty quickly. The entire time he’s in the kitchen, his mother fills the room with her chatter; she tells him about her day (the office is just as loud as always), asks about his friends (Ann’s fine, so is Akira), asks about school (pretty boring as always, the track team guys are back to ignoring him now at least).

As she puts the last of the fish onto a third plate for Yusuke, Ryuji quickly picks up both plates to take back with him.

“Are you sure you don’t need a hand, Ryuji?” His mother asks, watching him shuffle towards his room.

“I got it! Don’t worry about it!” He calls over his shoulder, hoping that she doesn’t follow him and see what they’ve got spread out across his bedroom. Before he can hear her response, he opens his door with his foot, stepping in without somehow tipping the plates and dropping food all over the floor.

Yusuke looks up instantly, hopping to his feet in moments to relieve Ryuji of his burden. He shuts the door, and the calling card project seems to be safe from prying eyes once again.

Ryuji heaves a breath the moment he sits down. “Ma almost followed me, I think. That was close.”

Yusuke sets down a plate in front of Ryuji, clearing off some of the space on the table. “Hopefully she won’t find out what we’re actually doing here.”

“Yeah, hopefully.” Ryuji digs in as soon as Yusuke sits back down--suddenly, he is ravenously hungry.

Yusuke follows his example, and they spend the next few minutes sitting in companionable silence. Then, once he’s finished his meal and is setting down his soda can, he notices something on the table.

“What’s that?” He asks, as if it’s not obviously a second calling card. A second set of words is partially cut out, sitting beside the new card.

“Oh--well, it seemed a shame to not keep your collection up to date.” Yusuke sets his own chopsticks aside, a contented smile plainly on his face. He’s got his eyes closed, so he can’t see the flabbergasted look on Ryuji’s face.

Ryuji’s jaw opens and closes a few times, not sure what to say. It takes him a moment to get his thoughts in order, but he coughs into his hand and tries to pretend he hadn’t reacted.

Yusuke opens his eyes and doesn’t give him a strange look, so Ryuji thinks he did an okay job of hiding it.

Eventually, though, both versions of the calling card are done and they’re packing everything away for the night. Or, well, _Ryuji_ puts it all away, because Yusuke had started yawning right as they were gluing everything together and had promptly laid down and fallen asleep. They’ve had an eventful past few days in the Metaverse so Ryuji isn’t all that surprised, but the position can _not_ be comfortable.

Once the cards are drying and the supplies are shoved back into their corner of his closet, Ryuji turns back to Yusuke and heaves a sigh.

“Hey, man--” He starts, voice quiet. “--that ain’t a good place to sleep.”

Yusuke makes a quiet noise of protest, face scrunching up and his whole body rolling over to hide.

Ryuji purses his lips, kneeling down to shake at his shoulder. “C’mon, Yusuke.”

This stand off continues for a little while, but eventually Ryuji wins out--by that time, it’s too late for Yusuke to make the trip back to his dorm at Kosei safely by himself. It’s not so bad considering it’s a Saturday night and Ryuji’s mom is happy to pull out their one spare futon to set up in Ryuji’s room.

Ryuji finds some spare clothes for Yusuke to wear to bed and sets out the futons while Yusuke takes a bath. When he returns, Ryuji is already changed and doing his nightly stretches before bed. Ryuji’s mom says goodnight to them both, and before too long all the lights in the apartment are off for the night.

Yusuke is almost too tall for the spare futon, forced to curl up on his side if he wants to keep his feet warm overnight. Ryuji rolls over, watching Yusuke’s face as he begins to drift off.

“You were right.” He says almost too quietly.

Yusuke opens an eye, and it takes a moment for him to focus and meet Ryuji’s eyes. He makes a quiet, sleepy noise.

“About the fame thing. And Mishima.” Ryuji still feels weird about how they’d seen Mishima’s Shadow down in Mementos--it felt at least a little surreal. “I meant to tell you that.”

Yusuke shifts under his blanket, possibly curling up a little more. “I wish I wasn’t. But there is little to be done about it now.”

Ryuji nods, rolling back over and staring at the ceiling. After a moment, he asks, “Where do you think we’ll go after this?”

“You mean who will be next on our list?”

“Yeah.”

Yusuke hums. “I’m not sure. But we won’t be swayed by the public, at least.”

“Yeah, not gonna let them tell us what to do again.” Ryuji sighs, scrubbing the heel of his hand against his eye. “We’ll figure that out later, at least.”

He doesn’t get an answer. Ryuji looks over to find Yusuke sound asleep, most of his face buried into his pillow and a hand clenched in the futon cover. His hair is still a little damp from his bath and clumped up across his forehead.

Ryuji should probably be falling asleep himself, but lately he just can’t seem to sleep at all. He lays on his side, watching the steady rise and fall of Yusuke’s frame next to him. Before too long, Morgana’s words circle back to the forefront of his thoughts.

What else was there to Ryuji’s reason to belong to the Phantom Thieves? What was next for them?

Ryuji lets out a breath. It’s true that none of them will be just blindly following what the public tells them to do--they’ve always gone with doing the right thing. They just need to focus on helping people. On saving them. On giving them the courage to stand up for themselves, the way Akira did for Ryuji. The way the Thieves have done for each of their members.

Ryuji remembers the day he first summoned his Persona, the day Ann did, and Yusuke. He reaches out a hand, brushing a strand of hair from Yusuke’s face, remembering just how much shit they’ve all been through. Who knows what may have happened, had any of them not ended up getting their Personas? Ryuji thinks that things may not have gotten any better--they wouldn’t be able to stop any of the criminals they’ve stopped so far. So many people would still be chained down, unable to change their lives.

He studies Yusuke’s face, wondering how on earth he’d forgotten what he, Ann, Akira and Morgana had agreed to when they first decided to continue on as thieves after Kamoshida. How could he have forgotten that the whole point of this thing was to _help people_?

The question feels like it has a better answer, now. Ryuji’s eyes flutter closed, and he falls asleep for the first night in a few weeks without anything lingering in his mind.

  
  


They had done everything the same as always. They left Okaumura alive before escaping the Palace. They only took the Treasure, nothing else.

Why was this time different?

Ryuji’s resolve had only just been renewed when, suddenly, everything comes crashing down around them. Ryuji feels sick--most of all, he feels awful for poor Haru, who had fled from Destinyland in a hurry but hadn’t been able to hide the tears in her eyes.

They’ve all split up for the night, none of them in the mood to celebrate a job well done anymore. Ryuji clenches his fist around the bear ears that Ann had shoved on his head, and feels stupid for letting himself get caught up in celebrating too much. His brain is spinning, spinning, spinning, and the chatter filling up the rest of the train car suddenly feels like too much to handle.

Yusuke is on the same train, and had kept pace with Ryuji all the way to the station. Neither of them has spoken, too shaken by Okumura’s press conference to say a word.

Ryuji feels a hand brush past his own--Yusuke’s. He feels it brush past again, looking for comfort, and Ryuji grabs it like a lifeline.

Yusuke’s hand in his is the only thing that keeps him sane the entire train ride back home. It grounds him, and gives him something to focus on instead of the other passengers saying that Okumura got what was coming to him. He hesitates letting go when the train gets to his stop.

Ryuji steps out of the car, though, and looks over his shoulder to find Yusuke already watching him. The artist offers him the briefest of smiles--one of knowing, of solidarity. One that says, _I’m here with you_.

He doesn’t sleep. He stares at his hand, clenching and unclenching it, and tries to keep from crying in frustration.

  


sir kunikazu okumura  
the great profiteering sinner of greed  
your success and global fame exists  
due to the tyranny you rain over your employees  
thus, we have decided to make you confess all your crimes  
with your own mouth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> like i said before, i have gotten to the end of royal!! i promise i won't spoil anything major in this (it's based on the base game anyway so it's not like i really could here). there's a few small things that were interesting to see and i sort of implemented them but they aren;t super important so it probably doesn't even matter. it's more flavor than anything else, i guess?
> 
> anyway, this was actually harder to write than the last chapter bc my least favorite part of the game is the lead up to okumura's palace ;;; my roommate kes and i spent too long discussing this part of the game while i tried to write, and i hope i managed to at least make it more understandable from ryuji's pov; we figured the positive feedback loop of him and middle-of-the-confidant-route mishima would put him in the wrong headspace when it came to the thieves, and that he just keeps not saying everything he thinks when it comes to mona. so. hopefully it turned out. it was also nice writing akira as something other than just a passive bystander and actually trying to stand up for morgana, if only a little.
> 
> thanks again for tuning in, and i hope to have more soon! i'm working from home for another couple of weeks, and since i have at least a rough idea of the next few chapters, it should be smooth sailing (no shido-related puns intended). hope you guys are all doing relatively okay <3

**Author's Note:**

> you can find me on tumblr at x-eternalmagic or howdomaddie, and on twitter as @howdomaddie! if you enjoyed this, please leave me a comment and tell me what you liked most! i promise it will make my day.


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